US – Foxglove Journal

Soft Landing – Jessica Michael

I spend an afternoon listening for the sound sun makes when it hits the ground,

a symphony as it slides off blades of grass, drowns itself in pools of shadow,

then stumble up a broken mountain to see how wind is cradled.

Not a single straight line is made anywhere.

Perhaps this accounts for our human obsession with maps,

our need to press curves into grids.

They say it is for memory, but I don’t believe them—

you can’t remember this.

How land spreads before sunset fire.

How ravens fly without moving a wing.

How a single leaf makes the decision to fall.

Does earth know to catch it when it does?

Jessica Michael lives and writes in Prescott, AZ when she’s not traveling this intriguing blue planet. Her work has appeared in Allegro, Comstock Review, Red Fez, Rebelle Society, Outdoor Australia, and others. Find her poetry and photography at www.authorjessicamichael.com or follow her on Instagram as @authorjessicamichael.

Daily Dreaming – Kara Goughnour

I don’t want to give too much away

but the sun doesn’t rise in this one.

Instead, I light a matchstick on your spine

and our slept-over sweat doesn’t burn

and the bathtub quakes with lavender and grime.

These days, we sleep in shifts

and watch for shadows, crawling about

like things that don’t live here, like things

that don’t live anywhere.

I’m hoping that, in every scenario,

you still love me more in the end.

Outside, the hydrangeas are sagging

with rain and inside you are looking me over.

I don’t want to give too much away

but, in this one, the night is both wasted and spent well.

Kara Goughnour is a writer and documentarian living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are the author of “Mixed Tapes,” forthcoming in the Ghost City Press Summer 2019 Micro-Chap Series. They are the recipient of the 2018 Gerald Stern Poetry Award, and have work published or forthcoming in The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Third Point Press, and over forty others. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram @kara_goughnour or read their collected and exclusive works at karagoughnour.com.

September 24, 2019 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: body, burn, creative, creativity, dream, hope, Kara Goughnour, lavender, light, love, nature, night, PA, poem, Poetry, rain, senses, shadows, sleep, spine, sun, US, writing Leave a comment

Glass Man – William Doreski

Made of glass this morning,

I’m pleased that anyone can see

through me to the landscape beyond.

Being so fragile I take great care

walking up the post office steps,

and standing in line avoid

bumping old ladies clutching

parcels intended for grandkids.

The day sighs many great sighs.

It expects me to understand why

I’m made of glass this morning,

instead of rising in a fist

of stainless steel. The river

brims at the post office window.

It also is glass this morning.

If I stepped on it, tried to walk

its naked water, we’d collapse

into each other’s shy embrace,

subject and verb uniting.

I reach the window to buy a stamp

but the clerk looks right through me

to the next person in line.

I cough to get his attention

but something inside me cracks

and I have to step aside and clutch

myself to myself to avoid

shattering all over the floor.

I’ll mail my letter tomorrow

when I’ve reverted to simple flesh.

Today I’d better lie down somewhere

in the shade so I don’t start a fire.

Somewhere in the damp old forest

where no one will step on me,

my utter transparency

plain as an artist’s model,

too slick to exhibit shame.

William Doreski has published three critical studies and several collections of poetry. His poetry, essays, reviews, and fiction have appeared in many print and online journals. He has taught writing and literature at Emerson, Goddard, Boston University, and Keene
State College. His most recent books are A Black River, A Dark Fall, a poetry collection, and Train to Providence, a collaboration with photographer Rodger Kingston. His website is williamdoreski.blogspot.com.

September 22, 2019 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: care, elements, embrace, family, fire, forest, fragile, glass, landscape, morning, nature, poem, Poetry, river, senses, shame, sound, steel, transparency, US, water, William Doreski, window Leave a comment

Siren – Jessica Michael

There is an ache like oceans

emptying themselves of everything but salt.

I walk the bottom,

cut my feet with wandering,

I fear her reckless chasms

and keep going.

Because for years

I thought I had a choice

in who and what and how I loved

when the only choice I ever had

was if I loved at all.

Here I am,

singing music to call the sea to shore.

September 9, 2019 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: AZ, choice, creative, creativity, elements, fear, feet, Jessica Michael, love, movement, music, nature, oceans, poem, Poetry, salt, sea, senses, shore, US, walk, writing, years Leave a comment

Final Swim at Warren Dunes – Leah Mueller

The sun, unchained a few weeks,

direct and unapologetic.

Like me, ready to bloom.

Water surface tepid,

unfiltered rays against my cheeks.

Solar angle closes

one degree at a time,

until the heat extinguishes itself.

Wrap towel around my shoulders,

rinse my feet in water.

Cold gnaws spaces between toes.

In the distance, hills of sand

extend in all directions.

Earlier this afternoon,

I ran down the largest hill

amidst hordes of children:

more slowly than last year,

but still upright.

Swim one more hour

until the sand cools.

Place towel in the trunk,

turn ignition key. Listen

to the crunch of tires on asphalt.

Another August gone.

How many are left?

Leah Mueller is an indie writer and spoken word performer from Tacoma, Washington. She is the author of two chapbooks and four books. Her next book, Misguided Behavior, Tales of Poor Life Choices will be published by Czykmate Press in Autumn, 2019. Leah’s work appears or is forthcoming in Blunderbuss, The Spectacle, Outlook Springs, Mojave River Review, Atticus Review, Your Impossible Voice, Barnhouse, and other publications. She was a featured poet at the 2015 New York Poetry Festival, and a runner-up in the 2012 Wergle Flomp humor poetry contest.

September 1, 2019September 1, 2019 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: August, bloom, body, creative, creativity, elements, heat, hill, Leah Mueller, nature, poem, Poetry, rays, sand, senses, summer, sun, swimming, time, US, WA, water, writing Leave a comment

Tornado – Robert Beveridge

The tornado

whispers across

the green lake

heads for your eyes

so that when I kiss you

your body splatters me

with droplets of jade

Robert Beveridge (he/him) makes noise (xterminal.bandcamp.com) and writes poetry in Akron, OH. He has recent/upcoming appearances in New American Legends, Toho Journal, and Chiron Review, among others.

August 25, 2019 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: body, colour, creative, creativity, droplets, elements, eyes, green, jade, kiss, lake, nature, OH, poem, Poetry, Robert Beveridge, senses, sound, tornado, US, weather, whisper, writing Leave a comment

Horses on the hill – John Grey

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.

August 11, 2019August 11, 2019 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: animals, Australia, change, companionship, creative, creativity, death, family, glow, hill, horses, John Grey, life, light, loss, love, nature, poem, Poetry, shadow, sunset, US, writing Leave a comment

The Stars – Linnea Cooley

That night, I tied a tiny string to each of the stars

and pulled them down towards the earth

in a big bundle, like a flower bouquet

They left trails in the jelly sky

and tangled on the wisps of clouds

A few even clanged into each other

and the sound was like a bell

So, I pulled harder

Wrapped the strings around my fist

and let them cut into my pale cold flesh

Finally, my efforts came to fruition

and a single star floated down into the troposphere

I cradled it in my arms and sang to it

– until it burst –

and the embers dissipated in the

milky night

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, linneacooley.weebly.com.

July 21, 2019July 21, 2019 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: arms, clouds, creative, creativity, earth, elements, embers, fist, flesh, flowers, Linnea Cooley, nature, night, poem, Poetry, senses, sky, song, sound, string, trails, US, writing Leave a comment

Rumble Rumble – Joe Albanese

I thought I lost a thousand years,

turns out I was just blinking

What I thought a ruptured volcano

is just what I’ve missed in aching

Hanging out the window sill –

is even half of me worth saving?

I never made it to the church,

but held my faith in breaking

Why rebuild this house when it’s the land that’s cursed?

I hear it, I hear it, I hear it

I got nowhere by acting low –

even my shadow overheated

What’s a rhapsody within myself

when all I did was stay seated?

Forge anything and hope it grows

to shed a weight only Atlas knew

I calculate I’m nothing special

because entropy does what we already do

There’s a wave so big I can’t see its crest

But I feel it, I feel it, I feel it…

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.

November 26, 2018 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: aching, creative, creativity, crest, curse, faith, growth, house, Joe Albanese, land, loss, NJ, poem, Poetry, salvation, senses, shadow, US, volcano, wave, weight, writing, years Leave a comment

How I love – Joe Albanese

From your hope is how I hear you

Through your unabashed scars is how I feel you

Between each thought I always see you

And it’s in your flowing that I know you

The sacred and magic are born from you

For simple being, the world should thank you

In crowded streets I may have lost you

But with heart-star lantern, I’ll search for you

Although ghosts may sometimes haunt you

It’s because who wouldn’t live beside you?

From your laughter I cannot save you

But in tears I’d never have you

If it’s in the sunlight that I want you

Then it’s in its shadows I am with you

If all our lives I never reach you

Then let these words be how I love you.

October 25, 2018 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: creative, creativity, ghosts, hope, Joe Albanese, lantern, laughter, light, lives, love, magic, NJ, poem, Poetry, scars, senses, shadows, tears, thoughts, US, words, world, writing Leave a comment

The Rose Trees are in Bloom – Arlene Antoinette

Monday

Mother sits in her favorite armchair, peering through the picture windows onto her backyard garden. The rose trees are beginning to bloom, she calls to me. I’m in the kitchen, washing up last night’s dishes, scrubbing spills from the stove, sweeping and mopping the floor. I respond with a quick, that’s nice. She leaves her spot only for meals and bathroom breaks. Night falls; a veil of darkness obscures her precious flowers. I plant a light kiss on her cheek as I put her to bed.

Tuesday

The rose trees are beginning to bloom. Her words seem to dance across her lips. I’m busy loading the washing machine and unloading the dryer. I look up, but I don’t respond. Mother stands at the window like an expectant child on the night before her birthday.

Wednesday

Mother, are you finished dressing? Again, she’s standing by the back window, hands clasped together as if in prayer. Have you seen them? The roses are beginning to bloom! Her blouse hangs open; her hair’s undone. I walk over to her and place my hand on her forearm. Come with me mom, we’re running late for your appointment. I don’t bother to look out onto the garden; I’m busy calculating how long it will take me to finish getting her dressed.

Thursday

Okay mom. I’m off. Lunch is in the fridge. There’s a glass of coconut water on the table and if you need a snack there’s a granola bar in the cabinet. I should be back by dinner time.
Have you seen them?
Seen what?
The roses buds. The rose trees are beginning to bloom.
I know, I know. I’ll look at them when I get back. I have to go. Love you. I grab my purse and head out the door.

Thursday Evening

Mom, I’m home. Mom, I’m back. I open the fridge and retrieve a bottle of cold water. It’s 5:30, and her lunch is still there. Mom, where are you? Why haven’t you eaten? I walk through the house, glancing into her bedroom, the bathroom and the living room. Finally, I look out the back window. She’s there, sitting on the bench in her beloved garden. I retrieve her lunch from the fridge and head outside. Mom. She doesn’t respond. Mom, you must be starving. I lay my hand on her shoulder, there’s no response. Mom, mom! Are you alright? Mom say something! Mom! Mom!

Friday

The hospital’s ER is ice-cold. Pictures of children playing in fields adorn the walls.

Saturday

I call close friends and family. My hands shake as I dial each number.

Sunday

I stand at the window gazing out into the back yard. Yellow, pink and red roses adorn my mother’s garden. The roses are in full bloom

Arlene Antoinette is a poet of West Indian birth who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Brooklyn College and worked as an instructor with disabled individuals for many years. You may find additional work by Arlene at Foxglove Journal, Little Rose Magazine, I am not a silent Poet, Tuck Magazine, The Feminine Collective, The Open Mouse, Amaryllis Poetry, Boston Accent Lit, Sick Lit Magazine, Postcard Shorts, 50 Word Stories, The Ginger Collect, Neologism Poetry Journal and Your Daily Poem.

October 23, 2018 by foxglovejournal Categories: flash fiction, ProseTags: Arlene Antoinette, creative, creativity, family, fiction, flash, flowers, garden, house, life, love, nature, night, NY, Prose, roses, short, story, time, US, view, window, writing 2 Comments

Cabin life – John Grey

Dawn unfastens the point of being here –

a shimmering globe rotating –

newly acquired light and heat and air.

Quiet breakfast

then a walk

sipping the vin rose of the morning,

a feeling hastily translated

from the woman on my arm –

a ledge of sandstone,

a forest nook,

and time, a small favor

that we forget to ask.

We could be mistaken for dew

except we hold on longer.

Or hummingbirds,

buzzing, fluttering,

distancing ourselves from small talk

but embracing the hunger

of small unimportant lives.

Person to person,

tree to tree –

and a running stream of course –

running on this spot.

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.

September 3, 2018 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: air, Australia, birds, creative, creativity, dawn, forest, heat, John Grey, life, light, movement, nature, poem, Poetry, running, senses, talk, time, US, walk, world, writing Leave a comment

Two Sisters, The Fourth Of July, 2008 – Eliza Spinna

Two weary goddesses on the hot concrete. We blast the crackly radio full volume.

I dance barefoot; my limbs are still unsure of themselves.

The summer asphalt sears my fleshy, uncallused feet. Rose bobs her head casually, coolly. The coolest.

I am seven and my sister reads comic books but as far as I am concerned my sister is the sole superhero

in this town. My hands are smudged blue with melting popsicle. A piece of pink

cotton candy is lodged between Rose’s two front teeth. I don’t think she knows herself better than anyone

else knows her. Thinking too hard, she says, is a recipe for disaster. She has a hole in her shorts.

One of the buttons on my yellow sundress has popped. At this age I am unsure of most things. Today,

I think, is like Sunday but instead America is God. I tell Rose this and she laughs like I said something

funny but I really do mean it. Patriotism and praying seem very similar to me. They both involve

reverence. Rose has begun to question God and America, but I am still young and Church is fun enough

and on Independence Day you get to see fireworks, and the simplicity of abiding by these rituals is

coherent in my seven year old mind. Other things I am already sure of: my sister is a fireball

that is hurtling towards the sun and I cannot wait to see how spectacular the explosion is.

Eliza Spinna is a Manhattan-based emerging poet and writer. She is a rising senior at Stuyvesant High School.

August 30, 2018 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: childhood, colours, creative, creativity, dance, Eliza Spinna, family, fireworks, memory, mind, NY, past, patriotism, poem, Poetry, radio, reverence, rituals, senses, sisters, summer, US, writing Leave a comment

Along the Gridley River – William Doreski

On the waterfall trail the moss

wigs with damp an intelligence

greater than ours. Painted

trillium spikes the roving eye

with rippled, blood-streaked petals.

We pause by the deepest pool

and watch the falls fall into it.

Trout? you speculate. No more

hooking fish by the lip. I broke

my fly rod years ago. Let the big

specimens die of old age,

as I plan to do when the light

thickens and the waterfalls freeze

and pharmaceuticals no longer

excite my favorite organs.

We enjoy the contrast of rock-

broken and still water, the swirl

of leaf decay icing the pool

like the world’s first birthday cake.

Nature’s always rebirthing itself

in a shrug of clichés. Brightly

ethered, it wings about us on fire

with floral imperatives. Leaning

on each other in the mist of flies,

we let the mood distinguish us

from the other forms of life.

Among them, only falling water

and maybe the painted trillium

seem mobile enough to track us

to our secret mutual lair.

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.

August 23, 2018August 23, 2018 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: animals, birth, death, decay, elements, fauna, fish, flora, flowers, Gridley, life, light, nature, NH, poem, Poetry, pool, river, trail, US, waterfall, William Doreski, world Leave a comment

Reluctant Diver – Susan Richardson

I move toward the pool with delusions

of grace coursing through my muscles,

eager to feel the sky against my skin.

I am caught on the wings of a dream,

limbs in perfect formation,

like a bird in tandem with the wind

plunging toward the water.

I stop to linger in the scent of flight.

The smell of chlorine attacks my senses,

tearing doubt into my imagination.

I stumble to the ladder and start

my climb to the 3- meter board,

a thimble of fright tapping

a ballad across my rib bones.

Cold metal screams against my feet,

vines of anxiety crawling with skill

up the back of my neck.

I look nervously toward my coach,

pleading for a glimmer of confidence

or a fistful of staunch advice.

“If your fear is greater than your desire,

climb down”, she tells me.

It turns out I’m not a bird after all.

I prefer my feet on the ground.

Susan Richardson is living, writing and going blind in Los Angeles. In addition to poetry, she writes a blog called, Stories from the Edge of Blindness. Her work has been published in Foxglove Journal, Amaryllis, The Writing Disorder and Eunoia Review, among others. She was awarded the Sheila – Na – Gig 2017 Winter Poetry Prize, featured in the Literary Juice Q&A Series, and chosen as the Ink Sweat & Tears March 2018 Poet of the Month. She also writes for the Arts and Lit Collective, Morality Park.

August 6, 2018August 6, 2018 by foxglovejournal Categories: PoetryTags: anxiety, bird, CA, creative, creativity, diving, doubt, dream, flight, fright, ground, imagination, poem, Poetry, pool, senses, sky, Susan Richardson, US, water, wind, wings, writing 3 Comments