sunday witness the dogs lay on the hardwood, a blue braided rope toy between them, teeth-pressed, but sharing in a way so gentle, so love-pure that I feel an actual stab of pain in my heart and inside the moment, I feel the span of timelessness that binds us when we let ourselves be wounded… Continue reading POEM A DAY – July 5 & AWARD NEWS!
POEM A DAY – July 4
Pools Conca Verde Srl, Italy, 1996* Zia Silvana wears fairytale-apple red onher lips a black bathing suit, her breastsheave in the dazzling sun. The pool stretchesbefore me, an Italian dare. Hundreds ofpeople gather on a perfect summer afternoonat the waterpark as my stomach stormswith anxiety. Barriers like bricks on chainstied to my throat: can’t speak… Continue reading POEM A DAY – July 4
POEM A DAY – July 3
Puce, late 80s Mid-summer. A for-free cottage. My mom’s ex-boyfriend’s generosity exposed in hot sand. A tennis court out front. red leather chairs that ripped the back of my thighs. ketchup and mustard. Boiled hot dogs. The blue and red dots of Wonderbread bags. Mastering the front walkover on sand-covered crabgrass. A lake we couldn’t swim in. The boy my sister… Continue reading POEM A DAY – July 3
VANESSA SHIELDS 