mid-summer

 

on swelter days
when her sweat wets cushions
and dogs breathe tooth rot,
wild boars tusk furrows through her tulips
at the summer shack

she finds jarred fireflies on the steps
mostly dead…
children left them there

once a boy pulled the glow belly from a firefly
stuck it on her finger
will you marry me?

 

Bonnie Marshall

Artwork by Jinni Thomas

 

protest song eternal

I would say… oh, my friend
where’s your passion…
I would say… oh, my friend
where’s your risking…of
fortune and muscle and time

for the warnings are there
outside windows… and the
signage is there on your street
at your gate…on your steps;
hear the throwing of dice
at your wall…hear their rattle
of bones at your door

hear…
the cadence of marching
the clanging of symbols
the striking of bells in the air

 

Bonnie Marshall

Art by Shane Cotton