Issue 14

Autumn 2013

Cover Photo © 2006 “Ta_Da!_(192646613)” by audreyim529 Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Like an empty shell that once held new life, loss can be felt as a hollowness within our hearts and our souls, but those empty places can also serve as vessels where we hold and protect our most cherished memories, bittersweet though they may sometimes be.

Most folks talk about the rain,

steady deluge from November to May

here in Western Oregon, but to me

the culture of compassion minus

pity is more noteworthy.

Larina Warnock

Her voice insisted I act on her words.

The living obeying the dead,

a reversal like paper rewriting

her story. Calls once a day

Tina Hacker

I wanted to fill that space.

I wanted to make him whole.

All I could do was hold him.

Katherine DiBella Seluja

the persistence of a person in touch:

this is above the discernment of fingerprints

Romi Jain

there are days

when thirst runs dry

and prayer lips harden —

nameless days

when rivers flow straight up

Sergio Ortiz

our friendship

withstood forty years —

strong oaks evolved from saplings

Stacey Dye

Without kids, did we even exist? I have photos,

the memory of her skin melting against mine,

Luke Evans

I promise you that everything I have to say,

I will say while you’re still alive

Laura Levesque

the dead give a slight nod as they pass,

acknowledging they remember me, too.

Alarie Tennille

I've told my stories so many times

I no longer believe them.

Stephen Bunch

I lean into the hallway,

feel that benign

maternal presence

patiently waiting

Elizabeth Landrum

And maybe she took it

back on the day she

melted into the shadow

of death, the day she

tasted cool mangoes

Gina Marie Mammano

And I begin the journey back out of the labyrinth to find the tree.

Marianne Gambaro