MeanwhileBy Richard Siken Driving, dogs barking, how you get used to it, how you make the new streets yours.Trees outside the...LivingMarriage & CompanionshipMidlifeRelationshipsHome Life
LetterBy Jean ValentineThe hornet holds on to the curtain, winter sleep. Rubs her legs. Climbs the curtain. Behind her the ...LivingTime & BrevityRelationshipsHome LifeMetersFree Verse
p1Garbage ManBy Julien StrongEventually my stepfather grew tired of his exile in the basement and left. She wept and begged him not...RelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome Life
p1He Had a Terrible ChildhoodBy Julien Strongmy mother tells me, and proceeds to elaborate at gruesome length. But don’t all gods and heroes get ...RelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome Life
WashBy Kiki PetrosinoSo I lean back & Redford asks, “Water warm enough?” & I don’t answer because I’m holding my breath. ...LivingThe BodyRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesHome LifeActivitiesIndoor ActivitiesMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryJoy & Contentment + 5 more
Meditation During the Sufferings and Deaths of OthersBy Sharon OldsI did not deserve to be beaten,and I did not deserve ballet lessons—except insofar as everyone deserves...LivingComing of AgeParenthoodTime & BrevityRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome LifeArts & SciencesTheater & DanceMetersFree VerseTechniquesConfessional + 6 more
p1Bay LeavesBy Nikki GiovanniI watched Mommy Cook Though I cooked With Grandmother With Grandmother I learned To pluck chickens Peel...LivingComing of AgeThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome LifeActivitiesEating & DrinkingIndoor ActivitiesStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryRefrain + 10 more
At Winter Solstice, Iowa CityBy Stephen KuusistoI listen for the footsteps Of my dogs: Little taps from their via sacra. When I hear them on the stairs I know...RelationshipsHome LifeArts & SciencesPoetry & Poets
Her TasteBy Raymond AntrobusFunny that my mother was a clown a college dropout who joined the circus with another clown who made...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome LifeMen & Women
Heartless Humour BluesBy Raymond AntrobusMy mother says my father had a heartless sense of humour. That winter she fell, ice on the road— She...LivingComing of AgeRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome LifeVerse FormsVillanelle
Epistle: LeavingBy Kerrin McCaddenDear train wreck, dear terrible engines, dear spilled freight, dear unbelievable mess, all these years...LivingComing of AgeGrowing OldYouthTime & BrevityRelationshipsHome Life
MythologyBy Chelsea B. DesAutelsAt first it was easy to tell the story because it was actually happening right then so we could tell...LivingHealth & IllnessSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome Life
p1Going BackBy Anni LiuWhen she returns, we mostly sit in separate rooms, faces down into our screens. I hear her leaving him...LivingLife ChoicesSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsHome Life
p1Receipts from AOL Instant Messenger (15)By Anuradha BhowmikCANDYDANDY24 Enter new Away message: // LOVE ME 0R HATE ME // Y0U STiLL CAN`T ERASE ME !! <3 AiGHT ONE1...LivingComing of AgeYouthThe MindRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome Life
Ashberries: LettersBy Philip Metres1. Outside, in a country with no word for outside, they cluster on trees, red bunches. I looked up ryabina, found...NatureLivingMarriage & CompanionshipRelationshipsHome Life
p1Queer AppalachiaBy RK FauthTake me to the holler. I want to see the cows Big Mamaw’s grave and something about tobacco fields. ...NatureSocial CommentariesGender & SexualityTown & Country LifeLivingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsFriends & EnemiesHome Life + 2 more
p1NeighborsBy Jim Whitesidemary One of just two kids on our street, I am coerced into unenthusiastic doll-playing. Her room is ...LivingYouthRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesHome Life
p1Spring CoronalBy Hyejung KookAgain this year I’ve failed the peonies that came to us when we bought our house in summer, not knowing...Social CommentariesHistory & PoliticsLivingHealth & IllnessLife ChoicesSorrow & GrievingThe BodyThe MindRelationshipsHome LifeActivitiesIndoor ActivitiesAnxiety & InsecurityDisappointmentGrief + 8 more
p1Filling Spice Jars as Your WifeBy Kai CogginIt seems like all my poems after this will be different, they will hold a different weight like how ...LoveDesire & PassionRomantic LoveRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsHome LifeLGBTQ+Joy & Contentment
p1Christian County, IllinoisBy Pablo OtavaloIn midsentence. Like a pregnant sow in another mud- and mire-laden trench, your hay-stuffed midland ...Social CommentariesTown & Country LifeThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsHome LifeAnxiety & InsecurityMelancholy & Despair