Labor Day by Joseph Millar

Labor Dayby Joseph Millar Even the bosses are sleeping latein the dusty light of September. The parking lot’s empty and no one cares.No one unloads a ladder, steps on the gas or starts up the big machines in the shop,sanding and grinding, cutting and binding. No one lays a flat bead of flux over aContinue reading “Labor Day by Joseph Millar”

State Fair Fireworks, Labor Day by Maryann Corbett

State Fair Fireworks, Labor Dayby Maryann Corbett Look up: blazing chrysanthemums in roseshriek into bloom above the Tilt-a-Whirls,hang for a blink, then die in smoky swirls.They scream revolt at what the body knows:all revels end. We clap and sigh. Then, no—another rose! another peony! break,flame, roar, as though by roaring they might makethe rides whirlContinue reading “State Fair Fireworks, Labor Day by Maryann Corbett”

Poem for Japan by Matthew Zapruder

Poem for Japan by Matthew Zapruder all day staying inside listening to a podcast discuss how particles over the Pacific might drift I knew thinking whenever cloud scares me I am not alone my umbrella slept in the closet I placed a few nouns in beautiful cages then let them out touched with my mindContinue reading “Poem for Japan by Matthew Zapruder”

Japanese Poems by Cynthia Zarin

Japanese Poemsby Cynthia Zarin Between the bent boughsof the splayed sumac the silverowl rests his head. The perimeterleft by your absence is longto walk in one day. The angel in hercredenza of extreme beautydogs swim the river I look for my heartby the lamp where the light isskitter in the wet black leaves PAINTING: “EagleContinue reading “Japanese Poems by Cynthia Zarin”

Kyoto: March by Gary Snyder

Kyoto: Marchby Gary Snyder A few light flakes of snowFall in the feeble sun;Birds sing in the cold,A warbler by the wall. The plumBuds tight and chill soon bloom.The moon begins firstFourth, a faint slice westAt nightfall. Jupiter half-wayHigh at the end of night-Meditation. The dove cryTwangs like a bow.At dawn Mt. Hiei dusted whiteOnContinue reading “Kyoto: March by Gary Snyder”

Volcanism by Jónas Þorbjarnarson

Volcanism  by Jónas Þorbjarnarson (1960-2012) Translation by Bernard Scudder We are the ever-changing earth always taking shape new maps immediately misleading new upheavals I was someone and then I met you. . . people change each other even cause eruptions within each other for deep down we are kindled, determined by all kinds of magmaticContinue reading “Volcanism by Jónas Þorbjarnarson”

Iceland, Summer by Rafaella Del Bourgo

Iceland, Summer by Rafaella Del Bourgo Returning to the apartment I rented in Reykjavik, I drive west past the fishing village of Hofn, its channel to be navigated with care due to the shifting patterns of the shoals. The rocking boats, and the seafarers, safe, for now, in the harbor. To the edge of Jokulsarlon,Continue reading “Iceland, Summer by Rafaella Del Bourgo”

Bread Soup: An Old Icelandic Recipe by Bill Holm

Bread Soup: An Old Icelandic Recipe by Bill Holm Start with the square heavy loaf steamed a whole day in a hot spring until the coarse rye, sugar, yeast grow dense as a black hole of bread. Let it age and dry a little, then soak the old loaf for a day in warm waterContinue reading “Bread Soup: An Old Icelandic Recipe by Bill Holm”

León by Lorraine Caputo

León by Lorraine Caputo PHOTO: Cathedral of León, Nicaragua (2009). Photo by Brassmaster, used by permission. NOTE: The Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, León Cathedral, is an important and historic landmark in Nicaragua. Constructed from  1747 to 1814, the cathedral has maintained its status as the largest cathedral in Central America and one of theContinue reading “León by Lorraine Caputo”

Central America in My Heart by Oscar Gonzales

Central America in My Heartby Oscar Gonzales On this voyage into the deep communion of solitudeI’ve casually come to knowthe old and withered costumes of the sea;I’ve walked carefully through the colors of copperwhen the dusk has already conjured the last prayer of the day;Through seasonal doorwaysI’ve called upon the twilight ghostsarched in the cornersContinue reading “Central America in My Heart by Oscar Gonzales”