I Grew Up Here By Jake St. John

I grew up here 

look 

over that 

stonewall 

covered in moss 

and through the woods 

down the hill 

and across the creek 

we found the cemetery 

basking on the hill

in the early

summer sun

of  innocence

and there

through the barbed wire 

between those trees

and a rotted wagon wheel

is the path 

that leads down 

to the sandbank 

where a hobo

had set up camp

for a spell

and we weren't 

allowed 

to play there 

anymore

but we still did

and over there

under that small 

pine tree 

is where 

three of my dogs 

are buried 

and one cat 

and maybe 

me 

someday.

   

       

Jake St. John is a one time co-winner of the April 20th, 2022 Hartford Yard Goats "Stud of the Game".

Citizens of the World by Susan Isla Tepper

I am the girl who flies on a bird

the one who had to get away

Did you spot us gliding 

through clouds and blue

before the bombs went off

Citizens of the world, we two

Fly higher than 

what they can destroy 

Elusive as pollen—

No longer land-bound

perhaps all a myth

perhaps after all. 

Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty years published writer in all genres.  Her current project is an Off-Broadway Play on the subject of art and life