Sep 25

Horse Year (Finally Over)

By Emily O’Neill

I went to the hooking & found
the pie-maker (still smirking
as Ford at the end of his bullwhip).
Glad he won’t see my cut mouth
from the inside. Yes, I was saving
the blood for you. Have a cistern.
Kick its clay belly until flood.
Spill, spill, then trust the bottle-
brush flowers to climb down & scrub
away your death like it’s not final.

I broke the white of beauty’s sheets.
I take everything laughing & too quickly.
Trying to apologize to a tin rage. Trying to find
what problem became an air plant. Will it grow
over the windowsills I brace against.

I’m drinking sap from the tallest muscle.
Our year plagued with more moons than
the most flammable planet. Earth is
burning worse than the candle that killed
our farm. The curtains went first.

The whole town’s seen me wet & naked.
I can’t or won’t undo the sight.

 

 

 

Emily O’Neill is a writer, artist, and proud Jersey girl. Her recent poems and stories can be found in The Boiler, Nightblock, and Powder Keg, among others. Her debut collection, Pelican, is the inaugural winner of Yes Yes Books’ Pamet River Prize and she edits poetry for Wyvern Lit.

Art: “Strike in an Open Field” by Jenny Germann

Jenny Germann’s work is based on locations that hold significance in her life. She uses landscapes to convey experiences, often drawing influence from her travels and daily observations.

She uses a blend of pyrography (woodburning) and painting to express her vision. Pyrography lends a controlled and physically satisfying aspect to the work, whereas the painting is experimental and evocative. She mixes the mediums as a way to communicate her perspective, using making as a form of introspection, and personal expression.
Born in Kansas, Jenny lives and works in Lancaster, PA.  She earned her BFA from the University of Kansas and is getting her MS from Eastern University.  She is married to furniture designer and cabinetmaker Evan Germann and together, they have two (adorable) dogs.