the forms of distant friends
that rain bleeds into the roads
life there in the fields, indistinguishable
from an early idea of cultivation
born elements slickened
& buckled by fire & water,
porous with aerated visions
then speechlessly
emotion becomes a first solvent,
dependent on the volcano's arranged deeds
all along,
a landslide was holding a practical vigil
bartered with by a kiln
around tables of slippery conversation,
where a glazed chew of
ballasted disputes (slow-to-cool)
was cradled by ziggurats & tablets
inscribed with empathy
personal solidity & fragility are questioned
in a tone the consistency of sticky mud,
geometric designs twitch till they reach
spontaneous moods stabilized
by rows of olive trees &
an agricultural shadow stretching
from a thistle to a hypermarket,
a pit in the stomach fills
with petrochemical libations,
soil hopeless with slender nutrients
makes its way back from
the eroding handle of an exhausted drink
& won't the replenishing rains start again?
love becoming the softener & glue by which
'on the wheel is thrown a hand,'
held palm up,
as routine teeters like a lipstick mark, a slip
on a rim where the sun's rays grip fate,
making it stop squirming like fire,
becoming not finally
a dreamed fall vine
About the Author
Dave Shortt is a long-time writer from the USA whose earliest work can be found in the print journals Salamander (Brookline MA), Nexus (Dayton OH), Mesechabe (New Orleans), Bullhead (Ashland KY), Sulfur (Ypsilanti MI), and Nedge (Providence), all but the first two now defunct. His more recent work can be found on the internet at, among other places, Spinozablue, Carmina, and New Note Poetry."
About the Artist
Kaelah Serrano is a Chicago based photographer. She is currently a junior at Columbia College Chicago and is pursuing her Bachelors of Arts (BA) in photojournalism and will be receiving it in May of 2025. Kaelah currently works as Director of Photography for The Columbia Chronicle. She grew up on the Southside of Chicago and consistently highlights or revisits themes of culture and identity throughout her work. Serrano’s work is available at The Columbia Chronicle found at columbiachronicle.com, where she works as a photojournalist by photographing and writing her own articles. Her work is also on her photography instagram @stargvzingg; where she posts concert coverage, protests, events, and personal projects, along with her favored work of old-school style portraits.
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