State of Emergency
Texans are not prepared for ice, snow covering everything.
Cold
iced
roadways,
lines
cold
enough
to
break,
cold
Texans are snowed, unprepared for ice-covered everything.
Patricia Hope
2/26/21
________________________
The work of award-winning writer Patricia Hope has appeared in Voices On the Wind, The Avocet, Weekly Avocet, Artemis Journal, Tiny Seed, Liquid Imagination, American Diversity Report, Maypop, Plum Tree Tavern, Muscadine Lines, and many newspapers and anthologies. Born and raised in Appalachia, she now lives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
“State of Emergency” by Patricia Hope
“Ancient Echoes, Present Pain” by Nancy Davis
Ancient Echoes, Present Pain
Kingdom divided, feet of clay, signs of the times…
Human
powers,
Iron
Strong.
Human
feet,
fragile
clay.
Human
signs of the Kingdom, divided times, feet of clay.
Nancy Davis
1/31/21
________________________
“January 6, 2021: A Skinny” by Martha Deed
January 6, 2021: A Skinny
Supremacists smash Congress with flags and spears to stop the count
killing
democracy
on
TV
killing
their
own
Destroyers
killing ‒
Congress stops Supremacists smashing with flags and spears to count
Martha Deed
1/21/21
________________________
Martha Deed has published seven books, including mixed media and two poetry collections: Under the Rock (2019) and Climate Change (2014), both with FootHills Publishing, and six chapbooks. Her poems have been included in dozens of anthologies and dozens of journals. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
TSPJ CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: “Poems to Document the January 6, 2021 Trump-Led White Supremacist Insurrection / Violent Attack at the U.S. Capitol.”
THE SKINNY POETRY JOURNAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:” Poems to Document the January 6, 2021 Trump-Led White Supremacist Insurrection / Violent Attack at the U.S. Capitol.”
Tell the truth. Make it poetry. Make it plain. – TSPJ Editors
Rules of the Skinny Poetry form: A Skinny is a short poem form, developed by Truth Thomas, that consists of eleven lines. The first and eleventh lines can be any length (although shorter lines are favored). The eleventh and last line must be repeated using the same words from the first and opening line (however, they can be rearranged). The second, sixth, and tenth lines must be identical. All the lines in this form, except for the first and last lines, must be comprised of ONLY one word.
SUBMISSION BRIDGE: TheSkinnyPoetryJournal@gmail.com
“Winter’s End” by Tyrean Martinson
Winter’s End
Arrows of geese soar across the sky overhead
breaking
winter’s
sovereign
stillness
breaking
fog’s
quiet
embrace
breaking
the sky, arrows of geese soar overhead–crossing
Tyrean Martinson
12/16/2020
________________________
Tyrean Martinson: Author, Teacher, Believer is the author of author of: Liftoff: Rayatana Series, Book 1; The Champion Trilogy; Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry; Ashes Burn; A Pocket-Sized Jumble of 500+Writing Prompts; Dynamic Writing Curriculum Books; and over 200 short works including poems, short stories, and non-fiction articles. Martinson is editor of: Walking with Jesus: Stories from One Hope Church and teaches at: Words Take Flight – https://tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.com/
“Unrequited” by Isabelle Fortaleza-Tan
Unrequited
he consumes another bottle
unrequited
fixation
sour
olfaction
unrequited
shards
viscous
red
unrequited
another bottle consumes he
Isabelle Fortaleza-Tan
12/2/2020
________________________
Isabelle Fortaleza-Tan is a high school sophomore at an international school in South Korea. She enjoys reading movie synopses on Wikipedia, eating tzatziki, and walking her Pomeranian.
The Poetry of Amara Coburn
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
The Poetry of Alex Pierre-Louis
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
The Poetry of Josh Miller
“Repenting for what you did to me” by Logan Block
“Dying in America” by Madeline Dohogne
“City Riots” by Carson Neigum
“Fall” by Ella Evanson
“Pandemic” by McKenna Scharnek
“canyouhearme” by Olivia Boray
“Elegy for a Young Queer Writer” by Michelle M. Tokarczyk
Elegy for a Young Queer Writer
(For Mia and Anna)
Rana Zoe, I never knew you—East New Yorker
30
writer
teacher
Afrolatina
30
Afrovictim
COVID
age
30
Rana Zoe. You, East New York—I never knew.
He said, “She had a panic attack.”
Denied
testing
twice.
Symptoms
denied.
Finally–
breathless–
hospitalization.
Denial.
He said, “She had a panic attack”?
They fight for Rana Zoe.
Connect
ventilator.
Contact
media.
Connect
race
gender
$$$$$$.
Connect
for Rana Zoe. They fight.
Such hope when she opened her eyes.
Cried.
Shed
weeks’
unconsciousness.
Cried—
students
stories
abandoned.
Cried.
Such hope, when she opened her eyes.
Rana Zoe died of COVID-19
complications.
Wrong
zip
code.
Complications.
Black
woman’s
body.
Complications
of COVID 19… Rana Zoe died.
Michelle M. Tokarczyk
6/04/2020
________________________
Rana Zoe Mungin, who had been clinging to life in the hospital for more than a month, died on Monday afternoon, April 27, 2020, after succumbing to COVID-19. She was a beloved 30-year-old middle school social studies teacher from Brooklyn who was twice turned away for testing before eventually being diagnosed with the virus. Rana Zoe…Say her name.
This poem, written by Michelle M. Tokarczyk, and shared with the world by The Skinny Poetry Journal, is dedicated to the Mungin family with unreserved love. Tokarczyk was born in the Bronx, New York City and lived there until she was nine years old, when her family moved to the more suburban Queens. She attended Herbert Lehman College — back in the Bronx — and received her doctorate in English from SUNY Stony Brook. Tokarczyk is a former professor of English at Goucher College. An avowed city dweller, she is the author of Bronx Migrations, a breakthrough collection of poetry on Cherry Castle Publishing.
“Winter Creeper” by Clayton Adam Clark
Winter Creeper
To the chain-link fence separating me and my neighbor,
vines
grow
vines
and,
vining,
transfigure
into
stalks
vined
inseparable, chained to the fence linking my neighbor and me.
Clayton Adam Clark
11/09/2020
________________________
Clayton Adam Clark lives in St. Louis, his hometown, where he works as a public health researcher and mental health counselor, and also volunteers for River Styx magazine. His debut poetry collection, A Finitude of Skin, won the Moon City Poetry Award and was published by Moon City Press in 2018. His poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry Daily, Shenandoah, Salamander and elsewhere. He earned the MFA in poetry at Ohio State University and recently completed a master’s in clinical mental health counseling at University of Missouri–St. Louis.
“Here” by Kenna Koller
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
“Climbing” by Sidney Heberlein
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
“Pandemic” by Sarah Larson
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
“The End” by Maile Beck
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
A Skinny by Lucy Rislov
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
“COVID-19” by Tallen Van Lare
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
“Twin Towers” by Ben Kaczmarek
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
A Skinny by Gianna Konen
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
“Today’s Struggles” by Alena Lippold
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
A Skinny by Ethan Baumgartner
Many thanks to poet and educator, Ms. Elizabeth Jorgensen, for sharing the Skinny form with her noble Arrowhead Union High School student authors. – TSPJ *Click to expand the image.*
“Playing Through Strength” by Angela H. Dale
Playing Through Strength
for virtually forever now my neighbors and I have played
bridge
kitchen
table
no-score
bridge
slam
response
forcing
bridge
played virtually, and now I have my neighbors for forever
the computer keeps score
deal
count
your
winners
deal
we
they
vulnerable
deal
the computer keeps score
pass, pass, pass, I say
notrump
unbalanced
dummy
exposed
notrump
finesse
the
knave
notrump
I say, pass, pass, pass
faces in little boxes we
laugh
double
showing
support
laugh
aces
and
spaces
laugh
faces in little boxes, we
Angela H. Dale
4/02/2020
Angela H. Dale is a poet and picture book author who lives in Ellicott City, Maryland. Her writing has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Her Mind and in many other notable journals. Her picture book debut is slated for release in Fall 2022.
“White Girl” by Jane Edna Mohler
This is the first poem TSPJ has published while in the crosshairs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arguably, its power is in its lines of artful honesty. The novel Coronavirus will pass. However, the pathogen of racial and cultural ignorance that keeps us from appreciating the wonderful value of all people will continue to rage. Indeed, it will continue to decimate the world if we do not attempt to mitigate it.
In the context of race, this is true white to black and sometimes black to white and, sadly, all too often, every color to every “otherized” assembly of souls. All of us need to cultivate a caring knowledge of what is beautiful about each of us–wherever humanity stands. To that end, I celebrate this courageous writer who offers, in the spirit of love, this genuine, warm, cultural self-portrait.
Truth Thomas
TSPJ Editor-in-Chief
_________________
White Girl
You do not know
me
tailgate
bologna
sandwiches
me
knobby
knee
swings
me
Know you do not
Jane Edna Mohler
3/7/2020
Jane Edna Mohler is a poet and counselor in the Philly suburbs. She is the author of Broken Umbrellas (Kelsay Books, 2019). Her work has appeared in Schuykill Valley Journal, U.S. 1 Worksheets, River Heron Review, and The Boston Globe. Mohler won the 2016 Main Street Voices Poetry Competition and is a Pushcart Prize nominee. She is an avid newcomer to Skinny Poetry.
The Prophetic Poetry of Barbara Turney Wieland – A 2020 Reboot of “2017”
Love this shot. Love the work of this gifted poet–
Barbara Turney Wieland.
Reposting this poem of hers–“2017” that seems
prophetic now, given
all that has transpired in America since Donald
Trump entered White House doors. – t
~~~
2017
starts as a shit storm
warning
muted
orange
warning
voted
fear-monger
rage
warning
as a shit storm starts
2/9/2017
Barbara Turney Wieland takes time for green tea steeped in a teapot, enjoys a bit of 100% dark chocolate and putting pen or paint to paper to see what comes out. Ever in wonder, she is an Aussie living in Switzerland, longing for sun, atm.
~~~
To order your copy of The Skinny Poetry Anthology
where more of Wieland’s
sterling work appears, simply go to Cherry Castle Publishing’s
online bookstore today.
“How to Write a Skinny” by Angela H. Dale
How to Write a Skinny
I
start with your end
lines
nine
inner
skin
lines
replete
with
repeat
lines
end with your start
II
bruisable fruit
distill
spill
your
veins
distill
fog
rivers
rain
distill
bruisable fruit
III
now step off the
cliff
sheer
no-fear
word
cliff
catching
your
breath
cliff
step off the now
Angela H. Dale
3/4/2020
***
Angela H. Dale is a poet and picture book author who lives in Ellicott City, Maryland. Her writing has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Her Mind and in many other notable journals. Her picture book debut is slated for release in Fall 2022.
“State Head Case” by Chad Parenteau
State Head Case
In union, me
put
here
with
you
put
together
unglued
I
put
me in union.
America
by
God
not
used
by
anyone
else
except
by
America.
America, no more limits,
have
won’t
cater
to
have
nots
for
I
have
no more limits, America.
Up in space
force
less
stamps,
welfare
force
poor
send
in
force
up in space.
Privates sacred,
your
healthcare
and
also
your
schools
hold
onto
your
sacred privates.
Into space, each child
throwing
their
hat
in
throwing
in
with
us
throwing
each child, into space.
Wall and wall
and
more
miles
taller
and
even
more
powerful
and
wall and wall.
Criminal aliens!
we
make
wall
make
tall
we
colonize
Mars,
we
criminal aliens!
At last standing, our
Prayer
Punished.
Guns,
Glory,
Prayer,
Punished.
Send
Thought
prayer
at our last standing!
Chad Parenteau
2/18/2020
Chad Parenteau is the author of Patron Emeritus, released in 2013 by FootHills Publishing. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Tell-Tale Inklings, Queen Mob’s Tea House, What Rough Beast, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Ibbetson Street, Molecule and Résonance. He serves as Associate Editor of the online journal Oddball Magazine. He has hosted the long-running Stone Soup Poetry series in Boston since 2005. His second full-length collection, The Collapsed Bookshelf, is forthcoming.
The Ski NNY [Poetry Anthology] Book Review by Rosetta Codling, Ph.D.
The Skinny Poetry Anthology Edited by Truth Thomas
Review by Rosetta Codling, Ph.D.
The Ski NNY (2019) is the latest issue from Cherry Castle Publishing. It is, by far, the most lyrically aesthetic from the house of Cherry Castle. Truth Thomas is the creator of the Skinny genre. It is, perhaps, an urban haiku, framed in eleven volcanic lines which surge forth. The eleventh line and the last line must be repeated using the same words from the first and opening line. The composer, Truth Thomas, does lend liberty to rearrangement. But the second, sixth, and tenth lines must be identical. Thomas, also, stresses that: “All the lines in his form, except for the first and last lines, must be composed of a single word.”
Does this all sound daunting? Yes. Is it difficult to achieve? Yes. However, the subjects of these harmonious creations are the more tedious to bear witness to. Yet, the poets in this collection do so fearlessly.
“the glint of gas oven or America’s Concentration Camps” (with acknowledgment to “who” by Sylvia Plath) is the opening ‘sonata poem’ of this collection. This poem is disarming and starkly real. Debasis Mukhopadhyay is a poet true to his mentor Sylvia Plath. The words drip and drape across the page conveying the erosion of the human spirit. In short, terse, verse, America is indicted for crimes against humanity on a single page of history.
“Jail Cell Diaries” is an entry in this collection that invades the soul in variation mode. This poem is a chronicle of 21 days of unjust incarceration. The varied repetition of words, in each stanza, are branded upon the page for the reader. “Freely…free…delirium…cry…sleep…dropped…guiltocent…dropped” are the words which descend upon the reader, slowly. Jen Schneider, the poet, paints an image that lingers long after the cell doors…open and close, again.
But, this collection is not without wit. Pam Desloges’ “Skinny Skinny” reminds the reader what lies beneath the meter and the meaning of a poem. She entreats us to explore the “nouns” and “bony verbs” absorbed in a text. She uses food imagery to aid in our envisioning of “low-carb adjectives” that are consumed in sectional, lean forms.
This collection is a whole. This collection is in harmony. This collection stands alone. Thank you, Truth Thomas, for delivering truths in many lyrical tones.
———————–
Rosetta Codling is a freelance literary critic. She has written reviews for the Ama Books, the Manhattan Book Review, the San Francisco Book Review, the Journal of African Literature, Autres Modernites, and Examiner.com. She has obtained scholarships and fellowships from Queens College (NYC), Teachers College/Columbia University (NYC), and the Open University (UK). She retired (in 2006) as a secondary school teacher and Adjunct Professor of English for over 30 years in New York. However, she attends global conferences and continues to write professionally. In addition, she now is an Adjunct Associate Professor of English at Herzing University in Atlanta, Georgia.
———————–
(Shaggy Flores, Nuyorican Poet/Scholar)
Order your copy of The Skinny Poetry Anthology from Cherry Castle Publishing today.
The Poetry of Thomas Locicero in The Skinny Poetry Anthology: Bold, Magnetic, Original
Thomas Locicero’s poetry sings. It has a voice as grand as the New York Island. His poem, “The Skinny on Italian Lovers,” is a cultural ode both of splendid originality and bold ingenuity. Without question, his work shines in craft and endearing uniqueness–and for that, we should all be grateful. Order your copy of The Skinny Poetry Anthology today, TO BE buoyed by Locicero’s work @ https://tinyurl.com/rqvf892
Thomas Locicero’s poems have appeared in The Skinny Poetry Journal, Roanoke Review, Boston Literary Magazine, Long Island Quarterly, The Ghazal Page, Birmingham Arts Journal, Poetry Pacific, Antarctica Journal, and Bindweed Magazine, among other journals. Originally from East Islip, NY, he resides with his wife, Lil, and sons, Sam and Ben, in Broken Arrow, OK.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on “The Three Evils of Society”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on “The Three Evils of Society”: War, Racism and Poverty.
The poetry of Tara Betts–a beautiful brilliance in The Skinny Poetry Journal
Tara Betts is a poet’s poet, to be sure. She is a deep dish of literary excellence–and perhaps, one of the reasons that the wind blows so hard in Chicago is because Betts is stirring good things up with her words. TO BE inspired by her work in The Skinny Poetry Anthology, go to https://tinyurl.com/rqvf892
Tara Betts is the author of Break the Habit and Arc & Hue. She’s a co-editor of The Beiging of America: Personal Narratives about Being Mixed Race in the 21st Century and editor of the critical edition of Philippa Duke Schuyler’s memoir Adventures in Black and White. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Betts received her B.A. in Communication at Loyola University, received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from New England College. She received her Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing from Binghamton University.
The Wisdom Rich Poetry of Changming Yuan in TSPA
Great depth and craft abide in the poetry of Changming Yuan. It is an honor to read his pieces, rich with layers of wisdom, capable of warming souls in winter frost. TO BE stirred by his work in The Skinny Poetry Anthology, go to https://tinyurl.com/rqvf892
Changming Yuan published monograph translations, before leaving China. Currently, Yuan lives in Vancouver, where he edits Poetry Pacific with Allen Qing Yuan. His credits include: ten Pushcart nominations, the 2018 Naji Naaman’s Literary Prize, Best of the Best Canadian Poetry and Best New Poems Online.
On the subject of Poetry of Kara Provost, Compassion, and The Skinny Poetry Anthology
There is a profound reverence for humanity in the poetry of Kara Provost. Now, more than ever, in the U.S. and in the world, such love is needed like air needs breathing. TO BE moved by her work in The Skinny Poetry Anthology, go to https://tinyurl.com/rqvf892
Kara Provost has published two chapbooks, Topless (Main Street Rag) and Nests (Finishing Line), and six microchapbooks with the Origami Poems Project. Her poems appear in literary journals and a number of anthologies, including Credo: Manifestos and Sourcebook for Creative Writing; Nuclear Impact: Shattered Atoms in Our Hands; and Shifts: Women’s Growth through Change. Kara teaches writing at Curry College and lives in Rhode Island.
“Praise Song for Marlin” by Le Hinton
Praise Song for Marlin
(Sunday, October 6, 1968)
When Marlin Briscoe started for the Broncos, we cheered.
Before
Doug.
Warren.
Russell.
Before
Colin.
We
knelt
before
we cheered when Marlin Briscoe started for the Broncos.
Le Hinton
1/12/2020
Le Hinton is the author of six poetry collections, including: Sing Silence (Iris G. Press, 2018). His work can be found in The Best American Poetry 2014, Summerset Review, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, and outside of Clipper Magazine Stadium, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, incorporated into Derek Parker’s sculpture, “Common Thread.”
To follow The Skinny Poetry Anthology on Twitter, go to: @TheSkinnyPJ
On the subject of Regina Guarino’s grand cinematic imagery in The Skinny Poetry Journal
What wonderful word pictures Regina Guarino paints in poetry. Her work literally Jumps off of the page of The Skinny Poetry Journal and that is a blessing for every reader who engages the pages of the book.
TO ORDER Your copy of TSPA, go to: Cherry Castle Publishing–the Soul press–all day long.
Regina Guarino is the author of Words Matter: Prayers to Heal a Feminist Soul (Blurb Books, 2018). Stockton University’s Shore Thing Writing Getaway, for which she was a scholarship recipient, inspired these poems. She has been teaching English as a second language for many years in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Skinny Poetry Journal on the enduring importance of a Kingly Stand
The Skinny Poetry Journal stands with all people who earnestly work to advance the interest of love and peace in the world. That means, we’re down with our Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic, Atheist family–whomever you be. We be against War, against racism, against any “ism” that acts as a social lighter fluid to inflame hatred and violence around the globe. So, if you didn’t know, now you know. – Truth Thomas
“…noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The higher ground of Debasis Mukhopadhyay’s poetry in The Skinny Poetry Anthology
Debasis Mukhopadhyay is, quite simply, a consistently brilliant poet with a singular voice. This happy fact abides in the Skinnys he has written that are gratefully a part of The Skinny Poetry Anthology.
TO ORDER Your copy of TSPA, go to: Cherry Castle Publishing–the Soul press–all day long.
Debasis Mukhopadhyay is the author of the chapbook kyrie eleison or all robins taken out of context (Finishing Line Press, 2017). His poems have appeared in Stride, The Honest Ulsterman, Posit, Words Dance, Erbacce, I am not a silent poet, and elsewhere. His work has been nominated for the Best of the Net. Debasis lives and writes in Montreal, Canada.
Elizabeth Jorgensen in “The Skinny Poetry Anthology” and it is good.
Elizabeth Jorgensen’s work in The Skinny Poetry Anthology holds the poetic grip strength that only gifted writers can wield. What a wonderful world her poetry is–for those on both two and four legs to follow.
Elizabeth Jorgensen’s memoir, Go, Gwen, Go, co-written with Nancy Jorgensen, is available from Meyer & Meyer Sport. Shorter works appear in Wisconsin English Journal, Azalea and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She has presented at NCTE, WSRA and for NCTA. Learn more at lizjorgensen.weebly.com
In the hands of DCluuuv and her generations: The Skinny Poetry Anthology
Blessed and honored to see this book in the hands of Melanie Henderson (aka DCluuuv) and her beautiful daughter–born loving books, to be sure.
Melanie Henderson, Washington, DC native poet, editor, photographer and publisher, is the author of Elegies for New York Avenue, winner of the 2011 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. An alumnus of Howard and Trinity Universities, she studied poetry at Howard University in Dr. Tony Medina’s “Boot Camp” and at the Voices Summer Writing Workshops (VONA) in San Francisco, CA prior to earning an MFA from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Her poems have appeared in Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Drumvoices Revue, jubilat, Torch, Tuesday; An Art Project, Valley Voices, and The Washington Informer among many other notable publications. She is a recipient of the 2009 Larry Neal Writers Award and received a 2013 Pushcart Prize nomination from Iris G. Press. She is a Founding Editor of Tidal Basin Review and serves on the editorial board of Cherry Castle Publishing. Learn more at: dcelegies.com.
READ HER NEW WORK, forthcoming in the Show Us Your Papers Anthology, published by Main Street Rag (https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/). as well as 400 years
the story of Black people in poems written from love 1619 – 2019, edited by Michael Simanga and Lita Hooper on
Broadside Lotus Press, with support from Third World Press Foundation and University of Detroit Mercy Press (http://www.broadsidelotuspress.org/)
AND TO ORDER The Skinny Poetry Anthology
GO TO Cherry Castle Publishing
“rivers to run” and “Wall” by Debasis Mukhopadhyay
rivers to run
white lyrics spilling out, rivers to run
heads
crowing
old
swastika
heads
scraping
cleansing
bludgeoning
heads
spilling out white rivers, lyrics to run
***
Wall
nothing hangs on the Wall
each
drop
of
skulls
each
drop
of
history
each
wall hangs on the Nothing
“mass incarceration (an extended skinny)” by Brian Gilmore
mass incarceration (an extended skinny)
1
our world has always been
jail.
work.
home.
travels.
jail.
deny
access.
exclude.
jail
has always been our world.
2.
these separate lives.
us
and
them.
mostly
us.
over
here.
hating
us.
separate these lives.
3.
this design of wickedness.
see
it
everyone.
look.
see.
there.
here.
multitudes
see
this design of wickedness.
4.
must we continue to suffer?
this?
we
cannot
believe
this.
who
would
allow
this
to continue. we must suffer?
5.
even in the schools we are
prisoners.
our
essence
unmentioned.
prisoners.
wondering
of
us.
prisoners
we are, even in the schools.
6.
got jail bars on all the houses.
fear
rules
the
streets.
fear
erodes
our
spaces.
fear
got jail bars on all the houses.
7.
you cannot cross
redlines.
tracks.
walls.
borders.
redlines.
suffocating
are
these
redlines
you cannot cross.
8.
we became at last.
free.
at
least
legally.
free
like
dogs
dashing.
free
we became at last
9.
so new prisons were built.
necessary
evils
they
say.
necessary
like
green
hair.
necessary
so new prisons were built.
10.
finally released from them jails.
boys
are
now
men.
boys
of
angry
time.
boys
finally released from them jails.
11. (for betts)
the new jim crow.
bastards
of
the
reagan,
bastards
of
the
clinton,
bastards
of the new jim crow.
12.
man must mean something to
rise.
build.
illuminate.
dazzle.
rise
magically
from
destruction.
rise
man. mean something to someone.
13.
freedom is a deeper memory.
stories
of
maroons.
revolts.
stories
unspoken
like
family
stories.
deeper freedom is a memory.
14.
makes me want to go like norman bates:
psychotic.
adore
peace.
psychotic
when
peace
eludes.
psychotic
like normal bates, make me want to go.
15.
we can all get along
rodney
no
one
heard
rodney.
no
one
respects
rodney
can we all get along?
16.
overcoming is the persistent of continua.
aluta.
forward
like
always.
aluta
keep
on
pushing.
aluta
continua is the persistent of overcoming.
Brian Gilmore
11/12/2016
flint, michigan ‘skinny’ by Brian Gilmore
flint, michigan ‘skinny’
dirty water is cash.
trading
life
for
death.
trading
truth
for
lies.
trading
water is dirty cash.
Brian Gilmore
9/10/2016
