The Mayor, a pink, puffed-up toad,
receives me grandly at Hamlet Hall.
I was in Mumbai last year,
he intones. Drill for water,
and all you find is fire.
In Greenland, only ice.
 
Is this science? I wonder.
No, you mean melted ice:
that’s our crisis right now.
 
He barrels on, declaiming
from his script: Oh, y’all
may be in danger, on islands
and down by the shore. Drill,
and you’ll tap the sea.
First the fish come up,
then the dolphins and sharks,
the whale-sharks and whales…
 
The Leviathan, too, I laugh.
Why not? I stare into his eyes:
they’re a low-watt, empty blue.
Hey, there’s a wheel I can turn!
No, he objects. You’re a wimp.
But I’ve got the dude you need,
the boy who lives next door.
Only he can master the flow.
 
Mortimer… just “Mort” to us
in our plush retirement home.
Dirty glasses, orange shorts.
He smiles as we walk away.
The guy’s a moron, man.
You can turn that wheel,
same as me. But as soon as
you do, the world will drop
down a sinkhole, and it’ll seem
to be your fault. — Why seem?
I badger him... Why
no more than seem?


Author Bio:
Hoyt Rogers is a poet, writer, and translator. He translates from the French, German, Italian, and Spanish; he is known for his English versions of Bonnefoy, du Bouchet, and Borges. He has published many books; he has contributed poetry, fiction, essays, and translations to a wide variety of periodicals. His edition of Yves Bonnefoy’s Rome, 1630 received the 2021 Translation Prize from the French-American Foundation. His forthcoming works include a poetry collection, Thresholds (MadHat Press), the novel Sailing to Noon (book one of The Caribbean Trilogy), and a translation of Bonnefoy’s The Wandering Life (Seagull Books). For more information, please visit his website, hoytrogers.com

In the bewitched aviary.
The sonnet according to Mr. Shakespeare

Helots muse about moony Golden Fleece of the condor.
Drudges think of the dreamy eternal dew of the hen.
Philosophers ponder on winged fantasy of the crow.
Kings ruminate on a picturesque gold of the jay.

Priests contemplate the dreamed, soft, meek weird of the woodpecker.
Masters daydream about nice marvelous songs of the tern.
Soothsayers dream of fulfilled gold of the yellowhammer.
Knights philosophize about poetic dawn of the wren.

Hoplites fantasize about a red sky of the sparrow.
Athletes describe the most tender treasure-charm of the snipe.
Gods remember an enchanted, dear temple of the seagull.
Goddesses recall fairytale-like heroes of the kite.

Poets commemorate the elves-like heaven of the owl.
Bards reflect on most amazing dreamery of the rook.


soothsayer – fortuneteller


Author Bio:
Paweł Markiewicz was born 1983 in Siemiatycze in Poland. He is poet who lives in Bielsk Podlaski and writes tender poems, haiku as well as long poem.

“Don’t never go to sleep on the
world, girl. Whiles you sleeping
the world scrambles on. Keep
yo’ eyes open all the time.”
Sonia Sanchez

The world is on fire
And we have sand and smoke in our eyes
And toxic particles in our lungs
People keep searching for quicker,
More powerful ways to kill each other
And then themselves

Our elders—the poets and peacemakers
The justice fighters and artists
The visionaries
And martyrs
Are with us still
We still have their shoulders
Upon which to stand
To make our way through this

It is why we know there is
Still a different way through
There is a better way through

They made those paths with their
Bare hands, with their
Marching feet, with their
Refusals to move out of the way
With their very lives

It is why we still search their words
Their wisdom, look to their actions
We put our feet in their boot marks
Which will never disappear

We know there is a different way through
There is a better way through


Author Bio:
Marie is a poet, writer, and playwright. She taught herself needle felting and is learning to play the Djembe drum. Her poetry and writing has been published in various places, such as Rebelle Society, The Mighty, Untitled, and others. Her poems were made into a play, “The Sanity Trials,” in 2018 by The Bridge-PHL, a Philadelphia theater company.

Marie is a vocal advocate for disability rights. She was a clinical social worker/psychotherapist for 30 years. She is from Philadelphia, and currently lives in an RV in the high desert of Santa Fe, NM. Her main inspirations are fighting against mental health and disability discrimination, the Almighty, Social Justice, and her faithful angel-service dog, Maya. Marie’s next writing projects may include creative nonfiction/memoir writing, as well as publishing a book of poetry.