Before Her by Jessica Nelson

The door stands wide open
To my screened in porch.
The dishes are clean.
The clothes are washed and are now drying.
I’m about to sit down when I notice an ashtray
Overlooked and forgotten from the night before.
It tells me I had a fun time
Forgetting about our times,
And then it reminds me of one time
When we toasted to love.
So I close the door
To my screened in porch
And sit on the floor crying –
Crying for the times before
her.

The clothes are done now.
I just heard the buzzer.
I feel a single tear fall from an eye
for you,
My short lived, beautiful lover.
But my tear just tells me I had a fun time with you.
And then I just try to forget about our times.
But it still reminds me of one time
When we toasted to love.

So I guess I’ll go get the clothes now.
Hang them, fold them, and put them away.
The dishes are done now,
And I guess we are too.

You were the one I had a fun time with.
I don’t really want to forget.
I will always hold dear to me
This single tear that turns to many.
For it reminds me of that time when we toasted to
Love.

The door is closed now
To my screened in porch.
I have clean dishes and dry clothes now.
So, I sit.
Only to think of us and our short lived innocent
Love.
Remember?
It’s how we felt toward each other before
her.

A Winter Bundle By Edward Scanlan

We walk in snow tracks made by hoofed deer feet,
With wood in tow held by warmly gloved hands,
And snow kisses lips, hats, jackets, complete,
Reaching the cabin with fire, warmer lands.

The sticks stoke the embers into the smoke;
Reverent pixies alight in the place,
Dancing like reindeer without Santa’s yoke,
Disappearing to winter air and space.

Stars crash through the heavens above us now,
That beauty cannot be heard, we are safe,
But the cabin’s sturdy roof reveals sound,
Ice, snow falling, crowds distant like a waif.

Hot cups of cocoa, and the season’s song,
Next to a winter bundle none is wrong.

Unsaid by Caitlin Conway

The soft breeze whispers in my ear
Telling me that on these waters there’s nothing to fear
Lines of ribbons composed of bark sway overhead
Their canopy encloses my secrets of things better left unsaid
As I take a sip of nature’s sweet nectar
I am now my own protector
Memories wash over me and the past beckons
But I will not return aside from the weakness in these passing seconds
Thoughts swirl through the howling hollows
I’m all alone when no living soul follows
But perhaps that’s for the better
I’m not sure how anyone could understand this ever changing letter
Lightly lay my head down on this soft turf
Sometimes the only solace is in mother earth
Her flying children sing soft songs to me
Their fleeting whistles a chorus in limbo, I wish I were that free
A drop of rain falls onto my cheek
Curious how mother cries
It seems she knows her future is bleak
So sad that such a small number of her children are her allies
But then, as her soft breath whispers in my ear
I know that both of us have nothing and everything to fear
Sun rays fall over my skin
And in that warmth I am forgiven of my sins
For it is the clouds overhead where I can place my trust
There pure puffy simplicity turns my worries to dust
And as they float away on the cool breeze
The lines of ribbons composed of bark sway overhead
And their canopy encloses my secrets of things better left unsaid

Anchor by Jane Trunk

an anchor
strong and stationed.
not wavering in the wind
or swaying in the sea.
just sitting, waiting
for someone to call for
help.
an anchor
stable and secure,
always ready nor fearful
of the unknown.

it is an anchor
I never had.
it is an anchor
you stole from me
the day you walked out.
it is an anchor
i still long for.

Untitled by Alex Petercuskie

I was the one who was always crazy,
Yet, still safe
I never took enough risks
Because ninety eight percent of me
Was a “good kid”
It didn’t mean there wasn’t any wild in me
So, then I loved,
And I loved too hard

I was a crutch for someone;
I was like a healthy drug that kept them upright
Until I had to break away for my own good,
But, where are they now?