Winter/Spring 2022

Front cover of Poet Lore Volume 116 3/4 featuring light blue circular Poet Lore logo surrounded by light blue punctuation marks: question mark, quotation marks, semi colon. In this issue:

GUEST EDITOR’S NOTE
BENJAMIN GARCIA

Guest Editor’s Folio: Punctuation

FIRECROWN
LIZA FLUM

≈ (ALMOST EQUAL TO)
JUSTIN JANNISE

BLUEBEARD’S WIFE
MARISA LAINSON

THE FIRST MONSTER I SAW WANT SOMETHING WAS JAWS < <
SUZANNE RICHARDSON

THE ANIMAL
RAYE HENDRIX

THE ORCHID
HEATHER MACKAY YOUNG

WHAT I WISH I LEARNED IN THERAPY
AE HINES

PRESCRIPTION
MICHAEL BATTISTO

ENJAMBMENT
AE HINES

STOP PRETENDING DEATH TAKES DESIRE WITH IT
DOUG PAUL CASE

ROCK: PAPER: SCISSORS
LIZA FLUM

THE LIQUORICE BITCH HEARS RIHANNA’S KISS IT BETTER AND DECIDES TO LIVE AGAIN
IMANI DAVIS

EXCLAMATION POINT
KAREN KILCUP

MIRACULOUS GRUB!
AMY BEEDER

NEGRO HEPHAESTUS TAKES A TUMBLE
IMANI DAVIS

PUNCHLINE
RAYE HENDRIX

SUCCUBUS SWITCH
IMANI DAVIS

A GRAMMAR FOR CONSENT
MICHAEL BATTISTO

PARIS GREEN
DEVON WALKER-FIGUEROA

(ENGLISH) IVY
S. SALAZAR

SNIPER
ROBIN GOW

STANSBURY ISLAND PETROGLYPHS
LIZA FLUM

SEMICOLON
KAREN KILCUP

IF A CROW—
IAN U LOCKABY

ONE LIFE
NKOSI NKULULEKO

FAMILY NAMES
LIZA FLUM

THE FOUR KINDS OF POEMS
MICHAEL BAZZETT

Poems

BODIES IN ORDINARY POSES
CALEB BRAUN

PORTRAIT OF THE VIRUS AS ORIGIN
KAKIE PATE

ABOUT LOSS
CLARE BANKS

THE DEAD OF SUMMER
JASON TANDON

I HAVE NEVER HELD A GUN
ROBERT FILLMAN

UPENDING
JANE ZWART

THE BABKA
HANNAH GRIECO

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION EXERCISE—TELLING LIES
JEFFREY BEAN

THE TWILIGHT OF THE NIGHT
STELLA HAYES

BECOME
KRISTIAN DOYLE

LOOKING AT THE EMPTY SUITCASE, SHE UNDERSTANDS EVE’S HUNGER
LESLIE ANN MINOT

WHEN I SAY NO, THE JOKER SMILES
TAYLOR BYAS

FIDA’I
EDWARD SALEM

ENTRAILS
LUÍS MIGUEL NAVA
TRANSLATED FROM THE PORTUGUESE BY ALEXIS LEVITIN AND RICARDO VASCONCELOS

FIRST POEM
LUÍS MIGUEL NAVA
TRANSLATED FROM THE PORTUGUESE BY ALEXIS LEVITIN AND RICARDO VASCONCELOS

TRANSFORMATION: SPRING SESTINA
LENNA JAWDAT

THE INSEPARABLE ROADS
JACQUES PREVEL
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY CALEB BOUCHARDS

WHEN LANGUAGE LEFT HER
KATHLEEN HOLLIDAY

BLACK GAUZE
BEE MORRIS

PSYCHALS
BEE MORRIS

TINYMASSIVE
JONATHAN DUCKWORTH

REQUIEM WITH A SINGING KIMONO
GAVIN YUAN GAO

AT LEAST SPIRITUALLY
T. DALLAS SAYLOR

SELF-PORTRAIT AS THE UNKNOWN WOMAN OF THE SEINE
BAILEY BLUMENSTOCK

KITCHEN AS MOTHER(LAND)
PATRICIA DAMOCLES

A SÉANCE
PATRICIA DAMOCLES

(MICROSCOPE) (ACORN) TEMPLATE
BETH GORDON

DAYLIGHT SAVING
GRACE Q. SONG

SEDIMENTAL
JOHN A. NIEVES

HOMERIC HYMN TO HELIOS
TRANSLATED FROM THE ANCIENT GREEK BY FORTUNATO SALAZAR

A YEAR IN, I FIND THE BOOK ABOUT REMBRANDT’S COPIES OF MUGHAL MINIATURES AT THE BOTTOM OF A PILE OF STUFF
CHLOE MARTINEZ

I CONTEMPLATE OUR CAGE & GET LEFT BEHIND
MICHELLE HULAN

SOMETIMES REQUIEM, 2
RUTH DICKEY

SALT LAKE
RUTH DICKEY

ANALOGY
LARISA SVIRSKY

PORPOISES
ERIN MURPHY

WHEN THE BUREAU OF SAD ENDINGS CLOSED
LUCAS JORGENSEN

GOSPEL
ERIC ROY

DEAD TWO DAYS BEFORE BODY FOUND
SAMANTHA PADGETT

DWELLING
SEAN KECK

THE GIRAFFE TITAN
BRANDON KILBOURNE

GIVING-UP GHAZAL WITH EYES
CHLOE MARTINEZ

SENTINEL SPECIES
JESSICA HAMMACK

SENTENCE
LIZA KATZ DUNCAN

WHAT DREAMS ARE FOR
CORINNA SCHULENBURG

LIAR
MARIE McGRATH

[THE GOSLINGS NECKS ARE SOFT AND TEETH ARE SHARP]
DEVON BALWIT

ON THE TINIEST OF BUDGETS
SYLVIA JONES

PAINTING OF FLOATING CLOUDS
YAN AN
TRANSLATED FROM THE CHINESE BY CHEN DU AND XISHENG CHEN

SELF-PORTRAIT AS SIBLING RIVALRY
ANN KENISTON

BLACK GIRL ON THE RADIO
ANTHONY OKPUNOR

ABECEDARIAN FOR THE APOCALYPSE
FRANCES MAC

RETIREMENT IN THE APOCALYPSE
FRANCES MAC

THE DIVISORIA STILL HAUNTS YOU, &
YVANNA VIEN TICA

A LONG SEPARATION
LI BAI
TRANSLATED FROM THE CHINESE BY YUN WANG

THERE WILL NOT BE A SHORT SERVICE
ALICE DUGGAN

FOR WE WHO SPEAK OF THE LIVING
ANTHONY OKPUNOR