Many Lives

by Alicia Ostriker Many lives said the old woman the grains of sand add up I have been a housefly and a queen The grains of sand add up to nothing said the lovely tulip unless love waters them Do you even know what love is said the dog and are you sure the grains […]

Ah, Ah

by Joy Harjo Ah, ah cries the crow arching toward the heavy sky over the marina. Lands on the crown of the palm tree. Ah, ah slaps the urgent cove of ocean swimming through the slips. We carry canoes to the edge of the salt. Ah, ah groans the crew with the weight, the winds […]

Prayer

by Carol Ann Duffy Some days, although we cannot pray, a prayer utters itself. So, a woman will lift her head from the sieve of her hands and stare at the minims sung by a tree, a sudden gift. Some nights, although we are faithless, the truth enters our hearts, that small familiar pain; then […]