Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysNocturnal LaborBy Mary Harwell SaylerNight gives birth to thought,dilates the mind’s womb,bringing forth issues. Mary Harwell Sayler’s most recent poem to appear here was Charcoal Portrait of an Actress, published as part of Contributor Series 10: Silken Rags, in December 2011.

Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysOn Your Twelfth BirthdayBy Laura Zucca-ScottIt’s your twelfth birthdayI see the lines on your faceAnd try to imagine the man you will beI celebrate and fearThe many tomorrowsAnd tangled futures I don’t want to see you give upThinking it is not possibleI wish I could tell you how it can beSo […]

Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysFoolish LoveBy Cathy DouglasThe animal at my breastis our shot at perfection,though neither cute nor very small.Whatever possessed us?The abyss of his eyesreveals none of your mechanical abilityor my perfect pitch,just the reflection of a truthlike us. In the wake of ecstatic birthwe find we have replicatedmy tartness, your dissatisfaction.He coils […]

Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysBoudoir AgeBy Betty Ruth SpeirOne is keenly aware of their chronological ageIn fact, as years pass, our awareness becomes more ominousPerhaps we should shift our emphasis to another inherent ageBoudoir age is another great barometerI am better in bed than I was decades agoRegret that I go to bed alone night […]

Contributor Series 11: On BirthdaysMy BirthdayBy Murray DunlapOh to be 35, in a wheelchair, and live at homeBecause of a car crash, hmphTrying trying trying to stay saneFailing failing failingRelearning to walk, one day at a damn timeSo I turn 36, in a cloud of angerBut I turn 39 in a passionate vision of happiness […]