A Troubled Girl by Wayne F. Burke

who drags a suitcase all over town;
she tells people where
to go too
only there ain’t no people
here
only squirrels, birds, and
me
on a bench
in this park
carpeted with golden leaves
from trees with
bare branches
stretching like arms
reaching
toward the sun
hidden behind
puff-balls of
nothing.

--

Wayne F. Burke's poetry and prose has been widely published in print and online (including in DISTURB THE UNIVERSE). His eight published collections of poetry include the highly praised A LARK UP THE NOSE OF TIME, 2017. He lives in Vermont (USA).

False Statement by Michael Anthony Ingram

I said that I wouldn’t look back at yesterday,
but I did.
I had to know.
I had to feel what I felt before I risked venturing into what is today. In that brief moment of madness,
I revisited yesterday’s beauty and its foulness;
its simplicity and its complexity;
its blackness and its illumination.
I said that I would not look back at yesterday, but I did. I had to know.

--

Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram, host and producer of the globally acclaimed poetry podcast Quintessential Poetry: Online Radio, YouTube, and Zoom. He is a retired university professor who champions the arts, especially poetry, to highlight issues at the intersection of power, privilege, and oppression. A nominee for the Pushcart Prize, he is also celebrated internationally as a spoken word artist. His eagerly anticipated second book of poetry, Metaphorically Screaming, will soon be released. For further details about the podcast, please visit www.qporytz.com.