It’s near sunset and the horses are high up on the hill.
Clouds are moving in. No rain but much shadow.
The light’s an untrustworthy yellow.
He opens the barn door wide
then climbs the rise toward where
the mare and her colt, the stallion,
nibble away the hours on the lush grass.
It’s the third day of his new status
as a widower farmer.
He looks at the turkey vultures
with a more jaundiced eye.
Likewise, the red fox.
Or anything willing to peck over a carcass.
The death of a loved one
brings out every death.
Some creatures react with glee.
Others, like the horses,
indulge their mellow indifference.
Some things won’t change.
He’ll still cut up his apples,
pour salt on the slices.
He’ll drink tea with globs of honey.
And he’ll attend to the horses,
fetch them back to their stalls
while it’s not too dark out.
Their manes glow.
Their heads nod amiably.
And they follow where he leads.
The horses are the perfect companions
if life is to reestablish itself.
John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Nebo, Euphony and Columbia Review with work upcoming in Leading Edge, Poetry East and Midwest Quarterly.
Linnea Cooley is a poet residing in the Washington D.C. area. Her poetry appears in Neologism Poetry Journal, Boston Accent Lit, and Anti-Heroin Chic among others. More of her work can be seen on her website, 
Joe Albanese is a writer from New Jersey. His work can be found in publications across the U.S. and in ten other countries. Joe’s novel, Caina (Mockingbird Lane Press), and his novella, Smash and Grab (Books to Go Now), were both published in 2018.
Eliza Spinna is a Manhattan-based emerging poet and writer. She is a rising senior at Stuyvesant High School.
William Doreski lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He has published three critical studies and several collections of poetry. His work has appeared in many journals. He has taught writing and literature at Emerson, Goddard, Boston University, and Keene State College. His new poetry collection is A Black River, A Dark Fall.
Susan Richardson is living, writing and going blind in Los Angeles. In addition to poetry, she writes a blog called, 
Robert Beveridge makes noise (
Richard Luftig is a former professor of educational psychology and special education at Miami University in Ohio now residing in California. His poems and stories have appeared in numerous literary journals in the United States and internationally in Canada, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Two of his poems recently appeared in The Best Ten Years of Dos Madres Press.
