Role Call
Roll Call
by Margery Hannah
I am only a person
tall and plain, tongue maimed long
ago when cow bells were ringing.
I was in love with those big
eye chocolates
reminding... Read more.
A Note on Dark Matter
I was just thinking about dark matter, how powerful it is, how it is the beginning of us all, the mother, the Eve, thee eve. Dark matter is undetectable, yet robustly... Read more.
Taboo Brown and Blue
Genetics dictate we are a 50/50 split of our parents, and researchers have identified various cycles that continue from one generation to the next. But how similar... Read more.
Killeen Sky
by Margery Hannah There is an ocean largeabove Texaswhere copper flickersivory fish ribs scale the expanse like veins in overgrown leavesand a skeleton man smiles... Read more.
Median
Monday meter from #theliterarypurveyor: An avenue named for the state and its best city is the median for two juxtaposed neighboring communities—Crown Heights... Read more.
A Hero is More than a Sandwich
The stumble I don’t recall, only the image of the tall, lean nanny named Jean standing at the top of the basement staircase looking down at me, unmoved by my cries,... Read more.
The Welcoming Committee
The Welcoming Committee
asked me to present a thirty dollar
poem. Like sun-sweet honey
make it, they say, coruscate
and luke-warm.... Read more.
Crystal White
I’ve lived at twelve o’ four Clymouth street for over fifty years. I’ve seen people move in and out and trees grow from saplings into fat telephone poles with... Read more.
Storms
I look forward to them the way
I once wet-tongued over
cotton candy as a child.
Neon afro-sugar melting
in my mouth, what is
sweeter than that?... Read more.
Shard in the Eye
Recently, I reflected on my birth order and whether I fit the associated stereotypes. I am the baby of the bunch: my dad, a young widower nearly ten years my mother’s... Read more.
Orange Can of Kerosene
I stood out back, with an orange can of kerosene in my right hand, looking at the overgrown grass, hanging tree limbs, and corroding nails through the roof shingle... Read more.
Fox and Sand Rats
A sly fox uses a secret to build an empire that includes a pack of sand rats.... Read more.
A Long Way Home
Humility breeds optimism, so we had assurance in loads. Still, it pained me to go. The heartland, like the heart, is sick and deceitful; it cannot be trusted. The... Read more.
Magistrate
to my place of bread
I was unpleasant
unpleasantly duressed by lack
of water
I could wash neither body
nor favorite dress
nor feed my yielding inedible
plant,... Read more.
On Pride, Not Prejudice
I’m a cocky son of a bitch. Instead of heeding to the eternal wisdom of God, humbling myself under His mighty hand so at the proper time He might exalt me (1 Peter... Read more.
Harlem Shuffle
And the time came to let go of my white people on a residential rooftop view and waterfront backyard with a baseball field on the side. With all its man-buns, diverse... Read more.
Prosperity
Prosperity
By Margery Hannah
Sand falls to the platter
of dry branches resting
in a baby cardboard box
I bless you and lower my gaze
wipe greased palms
on linen... Read more.
We Are Stardust
We Are Stardust
By Margery Hannah
I killed a star last night. With my fist I threw
a rope, summoned a lasso and snatched
him from the sky.... Read more.
Sister, Twisted
Sister Twisted
By Margery Hannah
by Margery Hannah
I look in the mirror and
see my spine twist... Read more.
Still Life
Still Life
By Margery Hannah
A snow globe
is where I am
A world where white
snow falls without
freezing. The house always stands
untouched and happy in warm
hands... Read more.