Out of Season by Richard King Perkins II

 

Sedanur Kunuk

Out of Season

Forget spring, its predictable eruptions dialing an ageless code: magnolias and acacia absorb soft orange flutes, the cat skates in the ditch, mousing leaves in the wind, unencumbered by thistle, pouncing up to startle a rabbit into motion, stretched to a sprint, leaving behind a spread of honeystalks arrived on limpid wafts, freshly arisen from the peat of sighs and vines, revealed as the heart’s rarest seedling, forgotten women who have given comfort in every hour, above the Chinese restaurant, the stacked columns of take-out containers, soliloquies of open tables, celebrations of nourishment and enrichment, how our bodies parted after being so intimately linked, the mind of truth, where one movement only prevents another, rain spreads lightly as butterflies, reversing flight, the first element of darkness, fear departs as fog, a supple plea attaching to the pink mist of morning that rises to my eyes. How vital and random the dew on my lashes, the burrs clinging to the calico hair. So much greater are we to see above the slope of this minor stillness.

© Richard King Perkins II

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Richard King Perkins II

Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Huntley, IL, with his wife, Vickie, and daughter, Sage. His work has appeared in more than fifteen hundred publications.

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Skinny Legs and Daffodils by Judith Burton, Ph.D.

AS Photography

Skinny Legs and Daffodils

God is an amazing artist!

Almost overnight, my brown splotched lawn has turned into a lush carpet of green grass. The gardens, still covered with the leftovers of winter, are sprinkled with green spears pushing through the warming soil.  They serve as a prelude to the breathtaking blossoms to come, in a variety of colors.

In the far-east garden, the first one I established when I moved to this centennial farm, stand two skinny-legged pink flamingos, the yard-art variety.

During my now one-year quarantine to avoid the coronavirus, I have been blessed to sort through mountains of artifacts from my ancestors.  I found a black-and-white photograph of the flamingos in front of what we lovingly called the “Little House,” where I lived as a young child.  That photograph was taken more than 70 years ago.

My mother was known for her beautiful flower gardens.  I am pleased that her pink flamingos were well preserved, so I can use them in my garden.  Although the paint is a bit faded and chipped, it does not detract from their charm.

Crowded close to those skinny legs are the first bursts of daffodils.

Thank you, God, for bridging my past with the newness of spring.

I celebrate your artwork!

© Judith Burton, Ph.D.

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Dr. Judith Burton

Photography by Gretchen Nelson

Judith Burton, Ph.D., a woman of faith, is passionate about helping others stretch and grow.  Writing from her heart, she is working her way through illness and isolation, quarantined since March 16, 2020. She has published a series of children’s books starring Two Little Ponies, which aim to encourage kindness and combat bullying. They are available on Amazon.

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YELLOW PERCH by Kenneth Pobo

 

Mikhael Mayam

YELLOW PERCH

When you ask about my life 

as a perch, I say that mostly 

one day is like another 

at least in summer.  I hear 

turtles sunning on a log

gossip.  We praise our water 

goddess in rain 

or sun.  In winter 

I barely move.  Time 

forgets to come home.  

 

To some other fish

I’m food.  

A dangled hook holding 

a worm teases me 

to my death. I may have 

five years.  Some make it 

to ten. 

 

You want my story 

almost as much 

as you want me 

on your plate.

© Kenneth Pobo

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Kenneth Pobo

Kenneth Pobo (he/him) is the author of twenty-one chapbooks and nine full-length collections.  Recent books include Bend of Quiet (Blue Light Press) and Loplop in a Red City (Circling Rivers). His work has appeared in Asheville Poetry Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Amsterdam Quarterly, Nimrod, Mudfish, Hawaii Review, and elsewhere.  

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