Author: Ian Trimnell

We meet in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen Opening Sentences Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Establish Thou the work of our hands; establish Thou the work of our hands. Presence  Dear Lord, you have called me by my name. You have carved me...

House  By Stanley Plumly  Door frames off the square, the inside sweating tile-brick walls uncovered, the checkerboard linoleum floors tilted toward infinity or at least in the direction of my northern bedroom window, which in winter is half-frozen with ice thick enough some mornings to draw on with a fingernail, while in the dust of summer...

A World Created by the Powerful  By Seifu Metaferia  [Translated from the Amharic by Alemu Tebeje & Chris Beckett] They say “come here! go there!” with a gun to emphasize their words “just drive me, please!” they say mixing polite and threatening because they like to blur distinctions —              ...

No Nonsense  By Charlie Smith  split off for a sec I thought I might say something truthful but couldn’t come up with it and lingered in the rosy twilight unpacking an old suitcase I found under the stairs sometimes I stay as still as possible and tell myself a limitless vista’s opening up when it’s not...

XLIII Judica me, Deus  By Malcom Guite  Shucked of the husk of all my wasted years I long to step forth, free of all encumbrance To set aside the heaviness, the tears, The sin that clings so close, the doleful hindrance Of resentment and regret, to let them go Roll them below the cross, as Christian once...

VII By Malcolm Guite  35 At close of day I hear the gentle rain Whilst experts on the radio explain Mind-numbing numbers, rising by the day, Cyphers of unimaginable pain 36 Each evening they announce the deadly toll And patient voices calmly call the roll I hear the numbers, cannot know the names Behind each number, mind...

Between Nothingness and Eternity  by Sri Chinmoy  Barren of events, Rich in pretensions My earthly life. Obscurity My real name. Wholly unto myself I exist. I wrap no soul In my embrace. No mentor worthy Of my calibre Have I. I am all alone Between failure And frustration. I am the red thread Between Nothingness And Eternity....

Heavy  By Hieu Minh Nguyen  The narrow clearing down to the river I walk alone, out of breath my body catching on each branch. Small children maneuver around me. Often, I want to return to my old body a body I also hated, but hate less given knowledge. Sometimes my friends—my friends who are always beautiful &...

Assiduously By Claudia Castro Luna From a coffee cup’s sweet bitterness into cold wind swept knowing that the place you search and yearn for is nowhere, no street names, no city gate. No degrees nor longitudinal measures to speak of. A compass can be useless when you are lost. Nowhere multiplies in your chest ravenous, like yeast....

Selah  By Honorée Fanonne Jeffers after Margaret Walker’s “For My People”  The Lord clings to my hands after a night of shouting. The Lord stands on my roof & sleeps in my bed. Sings the darkened, Egun tunnel— cooks my food in abundance, though I was once foolish & wished for an emptied stomach. The Lord drapes me with...

Duplex: Black Mamas Praying By Antoinette Brim-Bell Black Mamas stay on their knees praying. Cursing the lies folks tell ‘bout how the world don’t need you— “The world don’t need you” is a lie folks tell themselves when they step over blood gelled black and slick. Folks step over black blood gelled and slick to get...