Guidelines



Submission Guidelines: Send unpublished poems in the body of an email (NO ATTACHMENTS) to nvneditor[at]gmail.com. No simultaneous submissions. Use "Verse News Submission" as the subject line. Send a brief bio. No payment. Authors retain all rights after 1st-time appearance here. Scroll down the right sidebar for the fine print.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

UNJUST BECAUSE

Poem by Charles Frederickson; Graphic by Saknarin Chinayote


On other side of stonewall
Chipped mortar poison sumac cracks
Envisioning what it must be
Like to live without within

Never passive always active empathy
Passionately longing to tip imbalance
Curious about life beyond barricades
Barbed willpower bare survival existence

Barred entry mindsets slammed shut
Yearning to believe in something
Which reshapes prolonged struggle’s purpose
Besides pain suffering despair loss

Crusty loaves vinegary wine miracles
Leavened dough refuses to rise
Lonesome doves spoon-fed leftover crumbs
Scavenger pigeons grounded wingtips clipped

Shriveled sour grapes sun-dried sultanas
Bittersweet revenge scapegoat milk homogenized
Besieged soil stubble olive pits
Muddy hut roof caved in

Blessed depressed nothing to celebrate
Birthday candle wishes snuffed out
Pesky ointment flies hovering swat
Bottleneck terrorist label coming unglued


No Holds Bard Dr. Charles Frederickson & Saknarin Chinayote together comprise PoeArtry. Flutter Press has just published Charles’ new chapbook fanTHAIsies.
___________________________________________