AFTER LISTENING TO THE JANUARY 6TH HEARINGS

by Moira Magneson

After William Blake

 

Each day

I am thunder-

struck by the

howling storm

of lies, the fly-

swarm pox.

O beloved rose,

I am through

pretending

I could ever know

anything.

No wits about me.

What is left

is simply local

noticing—sugar

dissolving in

a cup of tea.

The sharp stink

of skunk on

the country road.

The mourning

dove's tender

three-note woe.

 

Moira Magneson calls the Sierra foothills home and has taught English for many years at Sacramento City College. Prior to teaching, she worked as a river guide throughout the West. Her work has appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies, including Persimmon Tree, Plainsongs, Canary, and California Fire and Water—a Climate Crisis Anthology. She looks forward to the day when our nation will no longer be in thrall to the 45th president.

THE ROAD HOME

by Tricia Knoll

“Road Home Through Chaos,” Mixed Media Photo Collage with acrylic paint on museum standard stretched canvas by Kim Vergil.

Stop by the school; yellow crosswalk on the road. 

Road kill skunk. 

Stop light at the mini-mall. Squad car in the lot. 

Right turn lane to airport. Go straight. 

Over the freeway bridge, past the corn field on the left, 

  gravel pit on the right. 

Fleet of foot fox crosses the road. 

Half moon overhead. 

Up with the bright beams

to catch the RBG lace

I hung on the mailbox

to remind me

 

that going home

is not just a road, 

it’s a piece of mind. 

 

Slow for the turn 

to the gravel road

we’ll plow as needed. 

Peace of mind

in a moon cycle 

studded with stars

like the drones they flew

in the fireworks. 

 

Road home. 

Road home. 

I made it home. 

Tricia Knoll upgraded to cable news shows two months ago to watch election coverage. After a tense week post-election, the headline finally changed. A new President and Vice President. Whatever comes next, she feels at home again for the first time in years.