Questions

Poem by John Minczeski

Where does white go
after the snow
melts?

And after the snow melts
will the ground remember
my shadow?

After sleeping all winter,
can a bear get by
with only naps in the summer?

How do crows manage
to fit their entire language
in a single word?

And do robins doubt
anything besides singing
can make the sun rise?

Northwoods Police Report

Words Anonymous

1) Two very dirty looking men were hanging around the market.

2) At 4:38 PM, a young man wearing a red sweatshirt
was seen putting something in the road so vehicles would hit it.

3) A loud party was reported on 3rd Street West. People were yelling and jumping up and down on cars.

4) A moose had gone through a fence on property, and now cattle are out on the road.

Rattlesnake Song #1

Text by Herbert Harper

Should you ever be bitten by a poisonous snake, prompt medical treatment will prevent death 96 or 97 percent of the time. Chances are you will never see a rattler, other than on a display, or in a jar of formaldehyde. Do not lose sleep worrying about them.

Worm love

Poem by K. Hauk

The rain brings the worms out. I try to avoid them as I walk the path. Some are already squished; others will be soon when the foot traffic increases. I see a worm curved into the shape of a perfect heart. Is it still alive?

five little trout songs

Poem by todd harper, except “in the clear current” anon.

Autumn wind again
the yellow birch leaves drift away
clouds float by
the heron has flown south
the hunger burns so deep
and the little trout eat up bugs and things
barren trees
the sky is dark and grey
ice cold wind riffles all

in the clear current
little trout imitate
the shadow of the heorn
wind riffles the quiet pool
the trout breathe, the deer drink

if I believed in god, she would be a frisky little brook trout
lurking in this sunlit pool

if I don’t fish for trout
everyday this spring
I will die.

Four Night Songs

“First Autumn Night” by Paul Cantrell; all others by Todd Harper

First autumn night —
Around our tiny moon — a halo —
the size of a billion galaxies.

sometime last night rain came hard
white apple blossoms coat the ground

mountain summer night
clouds chasing a full moon
frost before dawn —
colder than some folks’ winter

I thought I heard rain last night
open window cool air night birds
when I woke, the streets were dry.

The River Inside of Trees

Poem by Todd Harper

There is a river inside of trees
It flows endlessly, unseen
A pulsing current
There is a river inside of us
It flows endlessly unseen —
a pulsing current that pulls us along
The life force that turns winter into spring
A life force
All that is wild all that is good comes from this river
There is a river inside of us
It flows endlessly unseen
A pulsing current that pulls us along
the life force that turns winter into spring
The river inside of trees
The river inside of us

When in Pieces

Poem anon.

When in pieces my world lies,
Crushed and flung to alien skies

When my flesh avows it’s clay,
Pendant swung ‘twixt night and day

Then with will of mated bird,
My will grafted onto word

Taking up this twig and that,
Soul creates its habitat