James Crews: Possibility Still Exists
The smell of smoke’s now in the air,
which means a fire is not far off.
Which means something will kindle in you
if you let it
Edwin Arlington Robinson: The Sheaves
Where long the shadows of the wind had rolled,
Green wheat was yielding to the change assigned;
And as by some vast magic undivined
The world was turning slowly into gold.
Julia Conley: Ignoring ‘Mounting Threat to Clean Water,’ EPA Denies Factory Farm Pollution Petition
“We know that animal factories are a huge source of water pollution and that our freshwater is in crisis, and yet EPA has failed to uphold its duty to protect our environment from this industry,” said one advocate.
Sharon Fagan McDermott: Grateful
And now it’s summer and the word for that is ‘strawberry,”
its bright green cap and freckled fruit.
Michael Simms: Scarecrow
The scarecrow watched over
His congregation, even as wind
And storms tore at his clothes
And the crows grew to know
His indecisive guardianship
H.D: Sheltered Garden
Every way ends, every road,
every foot-path leads at last
to the hill-crest
Mojtaba Sadegh: Maui wildfires burn through Lahaina – it’s a reminder of the growing risk to communities that once seemed safe
Thousands of people were evacuated along Maui’s popular west coast as wildfires spread through buildings and hillsides starting Aug. 8, 2023, powered by strong winds from an offshore hurricane.
Kurt Brown: Road Trip
Once in Kansas, I stood in a field and watched
the stars on the horizon revolve around my ankles.
People are always moving, even those standing still
because the world keeps changing around them, changing them.
Dawn Potter: Play Clothes
How many summers
did that red and white sundress last?
It was my mother’s before it was mine
Edgar Lee Masters: Conrad Siever
…here under the apple tree
I loved and watched and pruned
With gnarled hands
In the long, long years
Richard Foerster: Aspens
This morning three trees lay felled,
the roots exposed like hacked bones
in opened graves.
E. Bailey Norwood, Courtney Bir: 10% of Americans Don’t Eat Meat
The number of Americans who are vegans or vegetarians has doubled in recent years.
Greg Lobas: 07:30 — Six Degrees of Separation
My best friend Dan helped pull the children
from the second story window,
little, smudged Raggedy Ann and Andy.
We had done every futile thing
we could.
Darrell Kaufman: Is it really hotter now than any time in 100,000 years?
Globally, 2023 has seen some of the hottest days in modern measurements, but what about farther back, before weather stations and satellites?
