By Laura Ditto I’m chased into a waltz by Whitman,  while Wilde hounds my head.  Their words live on in memory,  even when they are long dead.    As I sit in stupor,  and writing wracks my brain,  I remember those who came before,  and begin to feel quite sane.    Sappho taught me how to love,  Poe showed me my grief,  Service gifted nature,  and they all gave me relief.    I live by words unspoken  and leave my own to pages.  Perhaps if someone finds them,  they too will live for ages.   If Homer told traditions,  and Shakespeare defined play,  then words create beginnings  that never shall decay. …

By Pansy Alakayak Thank you snow, evolving is your presence,  You and Mother Earth – what an essence.  Snowflake and Snowshoe, wholly and true  Hoarfrost on elders heads, oh yes they grew.  Ancient dog musher and snowmachines too,  What would they do without you!  Climate change ravage, affecting all of you.  Please don’t leave us, forever be true!  Snow forever, you are pure and white.  Please continue to come in your time.  You are amazing and beautiful,  In your everlasting time. 

By Miles Dennis I crushed my fingers stacking wood.  Cut my fingers on parking-lot glass.  Broken arms, been snapped by ropes, and burned by countless careless touches of the stove.  I cursed and cried each as I waited for them to fade.  It is different now, I can’t find it now. It is everywhere, except when I look for it, when it is nowhere.   The half-dead trees outside are wrong, they won’t bear leaves this spring. The half-melted streets are wrong too, they will never melt out, and I think it’s inside somewhere. I can’t find it.  The East is wrong too, the sun won’t come up in the morning.…

By Jordan Hales I am the villain, and I will never win. My words are laced with venom. My ambition stings. I am never wrong, nor am I right. Vanity is worn on my iron sleeve. Viridian is my color. Black is my heart. Silver are the swords that stay at my side. I am the villain, and when you fall, I triumph. I taunt. I tear. I am only a reflection. I burn, you blunder. Betrayal is a given—by you, by me. I will love you. I will leave you, and you will watch me walk away. The ground burns in my footprints. Power blazes within me, but not…

By Kenneth A Hughes Show me, show me what you see  A scared little boy in a circle of uncertainty  Whispers in the dark trees unknown  He comes in to surrender, Alone  Lies and sin fall from his lips  The boulder he carries falls and splits  Suffering and hell he sees  Promises of Growth gossips the trees  His head is full of confusion and doubt  He’s cold when the stars and fire Go out  Blazing high in the sky Sun ray falls  Mercy from the sand he cries he calls  Like all things in life this too shall end  With the rain his soul begins to mend  Gratitude washes over…

By Margo Gillis Good morning my dear, how do you feel  Be cautious with your thoughts, they’re rarely real  Please remember to take your meds before you start to wane  I promise they’ll do their best to keep you sane  But when you’ve made it through, be patient with your brain  Please remember you’re on meds, your thoughts may refrain  From making any sense, due to the chemical imbalance  Oh, and don’t forget, when you chide yourself for being numb  Remind yourself of the time you nearly bit off your thumb  Trying to pull your mind away from the war raging inside  By forcing your body to set its survival…