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Yielding — to what?
Body shooting up flares left and right.
(My psyche, too).

I remain unsettled.
Eager to do so little.
Marching toward nothing           and caring not a wit…

Must. Break. Free.

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Tethered gods in steely disarray
chicken feathers, bloodied and spare, bear witness
to savage foxes, wily and sleek
unearthed talismans of anguished fear
raised up amid the twilight of the heavens
seers of stars
while Orion speaks softly
to those who bravely heed his words.

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tangled twisted sheets
unchecked forward momentum
       glowing red numbers
       on a small black box
eyes tightly clenched
against the quiet of the night
images intrude
noisily unbidden
like a black & white western
a steam locomotive
approaches the platform
its piercing whistle
and billowing smoke
herald the arrival
of endless passengers
embarking
on an already crowded
sleep-weary consciousness

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I’m thrilled to announce the first publication of one of my poems, Black Picket Fence, which appears in Persephone’s Daughters, Issue Five, Fall 2018. Their About page describes the online publication as ‘a lit magazine dedicated to empowering women who have experienced various forms of abuse and degradation.’

In writing Black Picket Fence, my goal was to revisit an episode from my early twenties, a stark memory of good intentions gone — nowhere — and the shame I experienced when faced with my sheer inability to comprehend how to react when confronted with the damaging effects of domestic violence. Now that I’m older, I recognize how very young I was and how unprepared I was – how unprepared most people might have been – in my situation. I don’t know what happened to this family. This memory has remained, a sad, shameful memory, over the years. I wish I’d done more. I wish I’d known then what to do. The truth is, I felt overwhelmed and powerless and I am so very sorry for my helplessness during this family’s time of need.

Here is the link to Black Picket Fence

Thank you.

Julie Allyn Johnson