The Literary Magazine of the Osterhout Free Library
Sound Shadows
Marjon van Bruggen
Do you hear
the sound below the sound
of our footsteps?
The wiry black whine
of bluebottles sleeping
or the tiny sudden shock
as thorns emerge on the rose
subtle things,
I tiptoe in its shadows and listen—
the goldfish discussing
the coming contest
the delicate slurp
of drinking fireflies
and the dancing dust
in the center of sunflowers,
against the glint of granite. Continue reading “Marjon van Bruggen, Spring•Summer 2017”
Anthracite
A Trilogy
Marilyn Pocius Shelton
1.
I hoist my hems for the devilish descent
Down where no bone reaches save my pen
I chisel by inches with the image of a pick
Picture of an axe, auger seen in no one’s eyes
But mine
Grandpa, when you lay down in a chink
Of coal, did you see your mother’s eyes
Rimmed with tears as she waved good bye
Rooted in her Lithuanian soil?
2.
Settling Accounts
After you pay for your carbide Continue reading “Marilyn Pocius Shelton, Spring•Summer 2017”
Double Dig
Harold Jenkins
Break the surface with the pitchfork
shave off the sod with the spade
Five feet wide, fifteen feet long
Dig out the first row
one foot down, one foot long
put it in the wheelbarrow
Add compost to the trench
loosen the soil with the fork
try not to think about you
Dig out the second row
toss it Continue reading “Harold Jenkins, Spring•Summer 2017”
The editors are happy to announce that Word Fountain has appeared on this week’s list of new arrivals in the Magazine Stand at the superb writers’ resource New Pages. And we are thrilled to share with you a lovely and thoughtful review of our current issue by New Pages editor Katy Haas. Read the whole review here. We were first listed last year on New Pages‘ Big List of Literary Magazines, so we’re delighted to have our Spring•Summer 2017 issue Continue reading “Word Fountain, Listed and Reviewed”
Silver Skin
Libby Copa
They press upward against the currents
to make small eddies with slow movements
(a quiet disturbance on the water) Continue reading “Libby Copa, Spring•Summer 2017”
Word Fountain 