Prayer of the Backhanded
By Jericho BrownNot the palm, not the pear tree
Switch, not the broomstick,
Nor the closet extension
Cord, not his braided belt, but God
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Understanding Tina Turner
By Tara BettsQuiet girl found a voice mama could not quell
inside Nutbush City Limits. The baby
blasted beyond timid Annie Mae into Tina
That Pomegranate Shine
By Lori DesrosiersI was the wrong kind of bride,
more sweat than glisten,
more peach than pomegranate.
Note from a Prodigal Son III
By Randall HortonThe gavel
The splintered body
The red-neck guards
For the Fifty (Who Formed PEACE With Their Bodies)
By Philip MetresIn the green beginning,
in the morning mist,
they emerge from their chrysalis
Final Exam Administration
By Remica L. BinghamI enter to find all the students in uniform
occupying a small room.
Eye
By Lee SharkeyWhat do you do with an eye in the cup of your hand?
What do you see that you didn't?
What do you make of a sphere of jelly with fins of torn muscle?
One Man’s Plea
By Lita HooperFrederick Lake has been to prison
finished his time
convicted in 1989
If You Leave Your Shoes
By Joseph RossIf you leave your shoes
on the front porch
when you run
Kissing in Vietnamese
By Ocean VuongMy grandmother kisses
as if bombs are bursting in the backyard,
where mint and jasmine lace their perfumes