Jose Padua: In Contemplation of the Failure of Empires
ready for everything
in the world that’s dim, dark,
shady and beautiful; ready for
the city that moves us like a river
Miranda Cady Hallett: How climate change is driving emigration from Central America
Considering that wealthier countries pollute more but are often shielded from the worst effects, how can responsibility be assigned for the harms of climate change? And more importantly, what is to be done?
Kathleen O’Toole: Half Italian
The brain’s hard-wired with the impulse to feed
when given the chance, and it’s why I always double
the garlic in any recipe.
Conn Hallinan: Climate Catastrophe Comes for Europe
This year’s floods and heat waves are but a fraction of what awaits the continent—unless a growing climate mobilization succeeds.
Stephen Dobyns: Santiago in Winter
He is gone now, the blind man, tidily dressed
in a suit of dust, with a dusty tie and dark glasses,
who played the clarinet on Paseo Huerfanos,
the paseo of the orphanage…
Paul Christensen: Summer’s End
Summer is like old gold, dark with age. You feel its strength become mellow and pliable in the soft breezes. There is wisdom in the heat that still simmers along the edges of noon, as if it were trying to tell us that illness or aging are as natural as drawing breath.
Chuck Taylor: Cutting
At first, I had no idea why the dogs were in the cages. I heard stories that the dogs were picked up running loose at night through many neighborhoods and delivered in old trucks to the hospital at night. I could tell that many of these dogs had been pets.
Karen Friedland: Ahimsa
You could say
it was a vegetarian’s revenge
Video: Segregated by Design
Black ghettos are no accident – how state-sponsored racism shaped US cities.
Richard Wright: Haiku
I am nobody:
A red sinking autumn sun
Took my name away.
Joseph Fasano: The Figure
You rise. You turn back to the room and repeat what you know:
The earth is not a home. The night is not an empty bridle…
Sarah Chavez: The Story of Death Is the Story of Women
It is clear that our society’s current denial of death is not working. What would our culture look like if we instead met the most mysterious, painful, and transformational aspect of our lives with compassion and clarity?
James Zogby: Addressing Those Who Have Been Fooled All of the Time
What is needed is a message that speaks to voters across the spectrum, telling them that they are being heard and their needs will be addressed by proposals for economic and social progress that will include and benefit everyone.
Elizabeth Romero: Being Poor
It can be waiting
And telling your children to wait
Wait their whole childhoods away.
It’s knowing they blame you.
