"Dusk," by Mae V. Cowdery

Mentioned Honorably

This is to inform
you that you received
an Honorable Mention
in the recent publication,
Who's Who In Global Obscurity.


hans ostrom 2013

"Paul Robeson," by Gwendolyn Brooks

"Palm," by Rainier Maria Rilke

Sudden Infinity

not sure.
do know history's owned.
driver's ed.

the allies. you remember them.
cut the heads off.
indescribable scene.
sources say myth.
sources say fear.
sources. say.
sources. "the thing is,
he had to have known."

percentages on the back end, said
my friend in Hollywood, which
does not give
does not give
does not give
a
shit.
in other news, we, collectively,
have raised the average
temperature.
what to do?
 did you say, "what to do?"
well then to that i say,
yes, let us ask and let us try
to
answer


hans ostrom 2013

"Dawn" by Angelina Weld Grimke

"Man in a Hole," by Hans Ostrom

Man, Bicycle, Shirts, and Crows

With his right hand, a man
pushed a bicycle. With his left
hand he carried five white shirts
on hangers, covered in transparent
plastic.  Three crows yelled.
They said, Get on that bike
and ride, brother! Wear black,
wear black, wear black!


Hans Ostrom, c. 2013

"Orchard in January," by Richard Wilbur

"The Wayfarers," by Rupert Brooke

Gothic Fog

He stepped outside
and rubbed the fog,
its pliant hide. What's
inside you? he asked.

No answer. Just muffled
rumblings. Suddenly
a woman's hand emerged,
caressed his cheek and neck.

"Come in," a female voice
said clearly. He entered
the fog. In there, faces floated
like unlit paper lanterns.

A chorus of moans arose.
He turned to escape, but
elsewhere had vanished.
He was inside the fog now.

He moaned.


hans ostrom, 2013

Gardener's Soft Porn

After the first seed-catalogue
arrives in Winter,  I paw through
it as eagerly as I gawked
at my older brother's
Playboy when I was 15.


hans ostrom, 2013

"Waltzing," by Hans Ostrom