21 May, 2017
True that tenderness never stopped
a bomb, got a man elected
president, or netted billions
in market shares. But when
my father stands in the wedge
between car and car door,
clutching the frame and trembling,
and my brother positions the wheelchair
behind him, grasps him under the arms,
guides him into the nylon seat
for the hundredth time as gently
and unhurried as the first,
I want to bow down.
21 May, 2017
two chickadees burn
a path through air
from the feeder suspended
on its frozen pole, cloaked
in shade, to bare twigs
of dogwood, doused
with sun. back and forth.
taking turns. or is there
just one bird, tethered
to hunger? plunging
each time into darkness
then winging back
to light where it cracks
and chews and prepares
for the next descent.
21 May, 2017
We skip through woods,
Scraped knees down a dirt path,
Play wedding with twisted twigs
For rings and altars of pine bark
Sticky with sap.
We play bride in little girl bodies
Between regatta and swimming,
The procession of the day laid out
In neat little hours, boxes checked,
Holding ghost hands.
We climb log fortresses and slide
Down zip lines through treetops
Until the bugs evening bite and
I wonder if the same mosquito
Tastes us three, does it make us
Sisters?
21 May, 2017
has an MFA from Texas State University. She was the winner of the Sonora Review’s 2016 Essay Prize, and her writing appears in journals such as Day One, Word Riot, The Pinch, and Puerto del Sol. You can find more of her work at daniellezaccagnino.com.
21 May, 2017
is co-founder of the boutique environmental publisher Ashland Creek Press (www.ashlandcreekpress.com). His short stories have been published by journals such as Phoebe, Flyway, and Antennae. His plays have been produced by the Washington DC Source Festival and the Oregon Contemporary Theatre, among others. Learn more at www.johnyunker.com.
21 May, 2017
’s most recent publications include a chapbook (Driving to Heaven, 2010), and a full length poetry collection (Growing Big, 2013). Individual poems, stories, and book reviews have also appeared in journals including Shenandoah, Wallace Stevens Journal, New York Quarterly, Cortland Review, New Hibernia Review, Ruminate, Dogwood, Briar Cliff Review, Cumberland River Review, and others. She was a Finalist for the Loft-McKnight Awards in poetry in 2014, as well as a former Pushcart nominee.
21 May, 2017
is the author of the Elgin-award winning chapbook, Undoing Winter. Her work has appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog, The Monarch Review, The Pedestal Magazine, Strange Horizons, Literary Mama, Flash Fiction Online and elsewhere. In between writing, parenting, and other madness, Shannon is also an officer for the Science Fiction Poetry Association, a poetry editor for Devilfish Review and founding editor of Riddled with Arrows Literary Journal. Learn more at www.shannonconnorwinward.com.
21 May, 2017
writes poetry in English and Serbian. Her recent work has appeared in Versal, Understorey, and Vesti. She is a PhD candidate and instructor at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
21 May, 2017
is the author of seven books for adults and children, including Kabungo and The Sea-Wave. Visit his website—rollistuff.com—and follow him on Twitter @rolliwrites.
21 May, 2017
is a writer and high school English teacher living in Southern California. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Poet Lore, Rattle, CALYX, and Naugatuck River Review. She is also author of the YA novel The Cellar, one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2014.