Poetry
On Receiving a Death’s Head Rosary Some twenty years ago, I was eighteen And being young, I knew I’d never die And came to Rome, the oldest place I’d seen And in St. Mary’s church, …
Literature 309B, Modern to Multicultural American Literature In the upper division Lit classes there’s a loose interpretation of truth. The instructor faintly prompts discussion and each student speaks, one at a time, as in a …
Scott Starbuck, a writing and literature coordinator at Mesa College, is the author of Lost Salmon (MoonPathPress) from which the following excerpts are taken. Know-it-all If it can be caught, shot, bought, or trophy-mounted, he’s …
Remains Such a tiny little box to carry a soul Faux wood with a walnut coat What does it hold? One foot wide and six inches deep, large enough for a person 170 pounds before …
Easter Rise, heart, thy lord is risen. Sing his praise Without delays, Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise With him may’st rise: That, as his death calcinèd thee to dust, His life …
Heritage He sits Frozen Bent over a book A beaker He stands on steps And looks to the future My future The one he doesn’t know I’ll have Lips tight, determined forehead He sits On …
April The sweetest thing, I thought At one time, between earth and heaven Was the first smile When mist has been forgiven And the sun has stolen out, Peered, and resolved to shine at seven …
Truckin’ I used to work the night shift at the gas station on Mission Bay road. The half-hour before sunrise the still gauzy, dream-spattered would float in, and we would conduct our transactions without speaking, …
A House Divided The toppling wakes me from sleep, that sweet retreat to denial, the state that makes it easier to dismiss destruction. Open eyes collect dust, allow the beams in near the iris, adjust …
Old Man and Girl Daybreak, like a peach in August, breakfast at the bar, china and silver — doesn’t matter, he’d drink Louisiana chicory coffee out of an old field boot. Hand-mashed blackberry toast, chewing …
A Summer Place The chestnut tree is sick, its bark scaled By yellow lichen, its leaves curled and brown, Falling already in August when the wind rises Across the patio our rented farmhouse opens Against …
Auschwitz A message in a bottle has been found in a concrete wall on the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Dated 9 September 1944, the message, in French, contains names, numbers and home towns …
Love in a Life I Room after room, I hunt the house through We inhabit together. Heart, fear nothing, for, heart, thou shalt find her — Next time, herself! — not the trouble behind her …
Condo This property is absolutely ideal Because of the incredible view. The design might be a bit dated, But the price is totally appropriate. The incredible view of the ocean Beyond the easily accessible beach …
Double Portrait All those times I said “forever” as in, “Will you love me forever?” then waited for you to say, “Yes, I will love you forever,” while you drained your glass and said instead, …
ATTENDANCE: A CATALOGUE: my car broke down, my mother became someone I didn’t recognize, I had a relapse, my sister got beat up, I felt the tremendous anxiety of living, do you remember me, no …