And Again the Magnolia by Hajara Quinn
“And again // the stupid magnolia goes // stupidly showboating // into the stupid night.” — Hajara Quinn
Still Life by A. K. Ramanujan
“I saw the half-eaten / sandwich, / bread, / lettuce and salami, / all carrying the shape / of her bite.” — A. K. Ramanujam
Grief by Richard Brostoff
“You hold an absence / at your center, / as if it were a life.” – Richard Brostoff
After a Death by Roo Borson
"I can do what I do best / and then go out into the world." – Roo Borson
Of Absence by Linda Gregg
"To see if the moon is a mouth. / To see if I am what it wants." — Linda Gregg
Note for Door by Ed Ochester
"but if you should return / while I’m out marking time, this is to tell you I’m home." – Ed Ochester
Things Shouldn’t Be So Hard by Kay Ryan
"And when life stops, / a certain space— / however small— / should be left scarred" — Kay Ryan
We Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye by Anna Akhmatova
“You meant more than life to me. I lived through / you not knowing, not knowing I was living.” — Anna Akhmatova