Growth Poems
Child
by Brandon Rodulfo
They say there’s sheep
and then there’s goat.
I go where my mind goes,
sheep go where I might go. Without a care.
Off to the side a child says—
I want to survive even if I gotta bite
and I just might.
......
The Ville
by Corey Alpough
The Ville, established in 1948.
Despite the violence it was a place that made me great.
Killers, robbers, crackheads too.
Wasn’t really scared cause that’s all we knew.
Mother, Father, Auntie’s and Uncles,
They was raised in the Ville like a lion in the jungle.
Big family so they came with a rumble,
bad influences that can make you stumble,
maybe even crumble.
......
Lean
by S. Taylor Chew
I don’t know why
I can’t just lean into you
Why we can’t seem
To just get right
We were so close
But that was a long time ago
Or maybe it wasn’t
Time is a slippery fool
......
new moon musings
by Sarah A
watermelon toes
I don’t know how to say no
scalloped shrieks
floating where the wind blows
never mind holding the heaviest load
I’m so magical—I could make you explode
didn’t even give me a chance to say yes
before coming to rest on my sweet head
......
Close
by Cash Olds
You are within arms reach,
Close enough to share the luring smell of your perfume,
close enough always, to bathe in your presence.
No more farther than a drunkard to his drink, you are never farther than a glance away.
Ruin.
desolate ruin is my nature
pain is it's very essence.
I've ripped apart yours,
as well as my very own heart.
......
Child
by Brandon Rodulfo
They say there’s sheep
and then there’s goat.
I go where my mind goes,
sheep go where I might go. Without a care.
Off to the side a child says—
I want to survive even if I gotta bite
and I just might.
......
The Young Bo'sun
by Jonathan Goff
The sea turned rough with me today.
I sailed with a lad of eight.
He loosed the rigging, dove overboard,
and left me drifting in his wake.
Where art thou, O little one?
Thou art radiant in thy wild grace,
Even when thou dost stumble,
When thou trippest and skinnest thy knees
Or when thy lungs spew dragon-flame.
......
The Constant Gardener
by Jonathan Goff
You were quiet, then,
moving carefully,
weighing each step,
as if the world might vanish
if you rushed.
You wondered
if you were enough
for all that waited beyond.
The world pressed in—
too many voices, too many eyes
......
Driftwood
by Kevin Schroeder
Driftwood
I drift, but not because I’m lost—
The waves have taught me what life costs.
No map, no mast, yet still I go,
With faith in tides I do not know.
The sun still warms, the stars still guide,
Though winds may change and paths divide.
I’m shaped by storms, but not undone—
......
Sparkle Spring
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
alive like rainbows
buds bluebirds wild ecstasy ~
cherry sun gone down
