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Category: Poetry

“I Spit Dust” by Darin Milanesio
Editorial / Poetry

“I Spit Dust” by Darin Milanesio

April 24, 2017August 30, 20200

The fog was making whispering sounds It was rising up from the earth Like spirits from the past   I spit dust from my mouth …

“The Couple Almost” by John Grey
Poetry

“The Couple Almost” by John Grey

April 17, 2017August 25, 20201

She camouflaged herself at a darkened far table, idled away time by tapping a spoon against her drink glass;   on the opposite side of …

“a blason from the crossfaded” by Connor Chapman
Poetry

“a blason from the crossfaded” by Connor Chapman

April 10, 2017August 19, 20200

A very pretty girl wears the same brown clogs every day sometimes. Between all the rain-soaked steps we took and the part where she left, …

“To the Best” by Anna Keeler
Poetry

“To the Best” by Anna Keeler

April 3, 2017August 19, 20200

We sit on the precipice of Heaven and pollution; you hand Me an empty box and promise Desultory protection.   Our bodies, superimposed From two …

“Twilight’s Crescendo” by Ken Allan Dronsfield
Poetry

“Twilight’s Crescendo” by Ken Allan Dronsfield

March 13, 2017September 3, 20201

absent of pearls in a grand ocean mollusk crying self righteousness without salty tears seeking to find truth in an unrelenting fervor see the dark …

“How We Love” by Lauren Brodowski
Poetry

“How We Love” by Lauren Brodowski

March 6, 2017August 19, 20202

Sometimes I like to reimagine religion and the stories I was told as a child, so that it fits the way I understand the world …

“If I Were to Outlive You” by Ellen Webre
Poetry

“If I Were to Outlive You” by Ellen Webre

February 13, 2017August 19, 20200

If I were to outlive you, I would feel the poet in me blackening, nails pulling in like a sea of petals in the mouth …

“Masquerade” by Laurie Frisbey
Poetry

“Masquerade” by Laurie Frisbey

January 23, 2017August 19, 20201

I reveal the parts I want you to see you think you know me masquerade ugly thoughts inside my head mourning at the side of …

“Judy and Modern Medicine” by John Grey
Poetry

“Judy and Modern Medicine” by John Grey

January 9, 2017August 19, 20200

The doctor’s handsome and that makes it worse… more bad news from the lips of handsome men. We need more tests, he says. Well no …

“Hypertension” by Maya Castleman
Poetry

“Hypertension” by Maya Castleman

January 2, 2017August 19, 20200

  Hypertension:   Each bus line a grime-filled artery, Each soup line snaking concrete corners, slithering in human filth like wet soil, wet and thick …

“Word Supreme” by Clint Keller
Poetry

“Word Supreme” by Clint Keller

December 26, 2016August 19, 20200

What I’m saying right now is meaningless – because a word spoken alone is a word spoken in vain. Like a tree falling in an …

“The Pissing Contest” by Laurie Frisbey
Poetry

“The Pissing Contest” by Laurie Frisbey

December 19, 2016February 22, 20222

Let’s make this a pissing contest. Place your bet with mine. I’m bound to win if winning means a longer yellow line. ‘Cause yellow’s the …

“Traffic Kids” by Farah Billa
Poetry

“Traffic Kids” by Farah Billa

December 5, 2016February 23, 20220

I don’t think in Bengali, I think it is just one of those things that fold my body  the way my grandfather used to. At …

“Water” by Gabby Catalano
Poetry

“Water” by Gabby Catalano

November 28, 2016August 19, 20200

“He laid his head in my palms And I watched as he grew a garden of roses Across a dying field. He had the power …

“On South Providence Road, 11:34 PM” by Tonya Eberhard
Poetry

“On South Providence Road, 11:34 PM” by Tonya Eberhard

November 14, 2016August 19, 20200

Catacombs and catastrophe fill my head. I cannot sleep. We end up going for a drive. The car pushes past streetlights and traffic stops— little …

“Get Up Get Down Get Outro” by Taylor Han
Poetry

“Get Up Get Down Get Outro” by Taylor Han

November 7, 2016February 22, 20220

I’ve spent the last two years trying to figure out how to pull this trigger finger from my mouth and blast the sour blackness out into …

“Shadows” by Hanoch Guy
Poetry

“Shadows” by Hanoch Guy

October 31, 2016August 19, 20200

I. I jump at the slightest touch on my cracked back. Fierce mountain wind rushes around me. My ears, too long and pointy. A cold …

“Vienna Night 3: Brazilian Exchange Students” by Jesse Swire
Poetry

“Vienna Night 3: Brazilian Exchange Students” by Jesse Swire

October 24, 2016December 8, 20230

portuguese lyric lilt xe’s, lifting ocean inflection  lifted south american toneflexing a talker’s tongue one ganders in psychadelic wonder when they codeswitch– one is jealous …

“The Soul is Water” by Sudeep Adhikari
Poetry

“The Soul is Water” by Sudeep Adhikari

October 17, 2016August 19, 20200

A blank is waiting to get painted, a bank shimmers with slimes and silt. I have waited for you; liquid caresses, and the kisses of …

“Sunday School” by Natalie Crick
Poetry

“Sunday School” by Natalie Crick

October 3, 2016August 19, 20200

Madeline loves it And sits as Mother would. The priest is like her Father Dressed all in grey, Palms fluttering with Paper clowns, Legs and …

“Rowena’s Poetry” by John Grey
Poetry

“Rowena’s Poetry” by John Grey

September 26, 2016August 19, 20200

She reads new poetry in old settings, antique store turned coffee house, dressed in black sweater, skirt and stockings, perched on the edge of a …

“A Passage” by Irsa Ruçi
Poetry

“A Passage” by Irsa Ruçi

September 12, 2016August 29, 20201

This one’s a very special post. We’re presenting to you the work of the highly accomplished Albanian Poet Irsa Ruçi, both translated, and in its …

“Interview with a Children’s Book Author” by Ben Nardolilli
Poetry

“Interview with a Children’s Book Author” by Ben Nardolilli

September 5, 2016August 19, 20200

Success is a function of desire when I was younger it evolved into an adrenaline addiction Instead of running from death I decided to chase …

“Confessionals” by Chestina Craig
Poetry

“Confessionals” by Chestina Craig

August 29, 2016February 23, 20201

I’m always finding myself writing about fire Maybe because I always got so much to burn maybe cause I’m a fire sign it’s easy because …

“Omen Sketches” by Rachelle Pinnow
Poetry

“Omen Sketches” by Rachelle Pinnow

August 22, 2016February 23, 20201

Rachelle Pinnow is also a professional geologist and a part-time writer. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s creative writing program, her short stories and …

“Twilight’s Drift” By Ken Allan Dronsfield
Poetry

“Twilight’s Drift” By Ken Allan Dronsfield

August 8, 2016August 25, 20202

Reason for waking, lofty faded dreams soft steps in grass eyes raised skyward Brisk breeze blows wind swirls on water geese march in air reality …

“Crazy at the Viper” by Ben Nardolilli
Poetry

“Crazy at the Viper” by Ben Nardolilli

August 1, 2016September 22, 20200

I joined the most well-adjusted band in America. My fault for believing. After twenty days and twenty nights I lost my lease on life with …

“Girl” by Chestina Craig
Poetry

“Girl” by Chestina Craig

July 25, 2016September 3, 20202

I used to think girl meant pink meant birthday cake roses wilting for safety & always use your inside voice but sometimes it means shout …

“Diamondsuit” by Rachelle Pinnow
Poetry

“Diamondsuit” by Rachelle Pinnow

July 11, 2016February 23, 20220

Rachelle Pinnow is also a professional geologist and a part-time writer. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s creative writing program, her short stories and …

“Fireworks and Supernovas” by Jack Madeira
Poetry

“Fireworks and Supernovas” by Jack Madeira

July 4, 2016September 10, 20220

You can cage me in fireworks But I won’t wither from entropy I was once resilient to the loss Or maybe I just absorb it …

“This is not a Political Poem” by Addison Namnoum
Poetry

“This is not a Political Poem” by Addison Namnoum

June 27, 2016August 29, 20201

Addison Namnoum and The Metaworker Editorial Staff would like to dedicate this poem to the victims of the Orlando shooting, and to their friends, families, …

“Conversations with Carbon” by Chestina Craig
Poetry

“Conversations with Carbon” by Chestina Craig

June 13, 2016September 4, 20202

I ask carbon, what does it feel like to be backbone? To have multiple arms? To be mother to all of me. Mother to all …

“On Fainting in Tube Stations” by Carter Vance
Poetry

“On Fainting in Tube Stations” by Carter Vance

June 6, 2016March 2, 20190

I don’t want that smart bomb sort of love, that painless thing all beset with clang of rust knife, mouse click, screen swipe, before you …

“Eclipsed” by Matt Rouse
Poetry

“Eclipsed” by Matt Rouse

May 30, 2016May 15, 20170

There is something he forgot Something he had do to today   He stands in the driveway Next to the black BMW Taps his foot …

“Shimmers of Time” by Ken Allan Dronsfield
Poetry

“Shimmers of Time” by Ken Allan Dronsfield

May 23, 2016December 8, 20236

Diamond shimmers within sand, an ardor in the moon’s brightness; a whisper. Stealing of devoted memories cast one’s heart off into eternity; the promissory. Talking …

“La Ciudad” by Ellen Zhang
Poetry

“La Ciudad” by Ellen Zhang

May 9, 2016February 23, 20200

Late night insomnia in la ciudad that never sleeps is a gift. I slip between the dusk, waltzing weaving between hum of streetlamp. Twirling in …

“Insomuch, I can see” by Jordan Wirth
Poetry

“Insomuch, I can see” by Jordan Wirth

May 2, 2016May 15, 20170

Is it a cricket, a refugee, chirping behind solid bars? Rub the legs, hope to see, there is nothing in the darkness. Close the eyes, …

“Seep” by Elizabeth Tyrell
Poetry

“Seep” by Elizabeth Tyrell

April 25, 2016September 3, 20200

Seep   Thought like a torrent of water Seep- drip, drip, drip. Each mould to old ideas that drip into a now opened mind.   …

“Clocks” by Matt Rouse
Poetry

“Clocks” by Matt Rouse

April 18, 2016August 19, 20200

I have seven alarm clocks programed on my smartphone Which I place under my pillow at night Seven alarm clocks that are set 5 minutes …

“Every Night” by Ellen Webre
Poetry

“Every Night” by Ellen Webre

February 22, 2016September 3, 20200

Every night I’ve lain awake with baited breath. Shadows flash across the ceiling as cars pass by the window. There is a woman out there, …

“It is Tuesday, November 3rd & I am Alive by Whatever Means Necessary” by Torrin Greathouse
Poetry

“It is Tuesday, November 3rd & I am Alive by Whatever Means Necessary” by Torrin Greathouse

February 8, 2016September 3, 20201

Lightning strikes like the silhouette of the city and for a moment, the air blisters with Saint Elmo’s fire over the Arby’s sign.   The …

“A Question Considered in a Pedal Car” by Ellen Webre
Poetry

“A Question Considered in a Pedal Car” by Ellen Webre

January 11, 2016September 23, 20200

How am I fitting in this right now? It’s been years, centuries since I was small enough to terrorize villages and miniature pedestrians in this …

“Blossom” by torrin greathouse
Poetry

“Blossom” by torrin greathouse

January 4, 2016August 7, 20230

Torrin Greathouse is a Literary Journalism student and governing member of the Uncultivated Rabbits spoken word collective at UC Irvine. They were the 2015 winner …

Five Short Poems by Michael Cantin
Micro / Poetry

Five Short Poems by Michael Cantin

December 7, 2015December 6, 20241

Without Roots Without Roots this Ikea bed supports me just about as well as a twig supports a tree house Glue sticks Paper thin is …

“Symphorophilia, or Crash: 1898” by Michael Cantin
Poetry

“Symphorophilia, or Crash: 1898” by Michael Cantin

November 2, 2015July 9, 20170

To the rail Taken under duress, mid congress, my petticoats torn, I find myself bound to the track. Ostensibly, for ransom. But who pray tell, …

“Daymare” by Wil Deas
Poetry

“Daymare” by Wil Deas

September 7, 2015September 1, 20200

Wil Deas lives and writes in the city of Los Angeles with his cat Murder Mittens. A recent graduate of Chapman University, Wil is doing …

“They” and “The Mountain Where our Bones Showed Through” by Jesse Swire
Poetry

“They” and “The Mountain Where our Bones Showed Through” by Jesse Swire

August 31, 2015December 8, 20231

They Sleek bold bodybound by expectationsby gendered declarationsforced to function in conversationssplit in twain by ‘his’ + ‘her’, no ‘they’ How to navigate this intimate …

“Lethargic Colonist in Church’s Chicken” by Ellen Webre
Poetry

“Lethargic Colonist in Church’s Chicken” by Ellen Webre

August 24, 2015August 29, 20200

He comes for honey, sweetness of the meaty earth he plants his flag in. Sunlight pollinates the horizon with gold. He moves like a rolling …

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