I Am Blanket

  by A.J. Huffman

Warm layer of comfort, lingering in the shadow

of your bed’s frame.  Infused with static, I cling

to your body, instinctively knowing every curve.

I am tangible reassurance during the cool hours

of the moon, but at dawn I am discarded,

an unwelcome intruder, a smoldering smotherer,

a collector of repressed fears you pray

will come out in the wash.

 
Bio: A.J. Huffman has published nine solo chapbooks and one joint chapbook through various small presses. She also has two new full-length poetry collections forthcoming, Another Blood Jet (Eldritch Press) and A Few Bullets Short of Home (mgv2>publishing). She is a Pushcart Prize nominee, and her poetry, fiction, and haiku have appeared in hundreds of national and international journals, including Labletter, The James Dickey Review, Bone Orchard, EgoPHobia, Kritya, and Offerta Speciale, in which her work appeared in both English and Italian translation. She is also the founding editor of Kind of a Hurricane Press. www.kindofahurricanepress.com

The Coming of WInter

   by James Piatt

When dark gray clouds amass, and rain appear,

These are the moments many hearts do grieve,

For their winter months, are dank, and austere.

Without rainfall, however, the earth would die

Flowers, leas, and trees would wither away.

Without the soft white snow, children would cry,

And a white Christmas would never be gay:

The downpours bring spring, and a fertile scene

Multicolored flowers appear, trees have growth,

Without winter, nothing would ever be green.

These rewards of winter one should never loathe,

For without winter’s bountiful precipitation,

There would never be a garden’s new greenery,

Or excited children with Christmas expectation,

And only a bland ecru sameness to the scenery.

Bio: James Piatt is the author of two poetry books, “The Silent Pond” (2012) and

“Ancient Rhythms” (2014), his third poetry book will be released in

2015. He has had 590 poems published.  His poem, “The Night Frog” was

nominated for best of web 2013, his poem, “In The Meadow,” was

selected as 1 of the 100 best poems of 2014, his poem, “I Am” was

nominated for a 2014 Pushcart award, and his poem, “Teach Me” was

selected as the poem of the year at Long Story Short. His books are

available on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.