picket their flipping fence

By Chris Wheeler

line for the half inch overhang

of a dandelion the HOA

isn't listening to me but I know

what I've seen I've measured it

and the only recourse now is poison

how can they let those lawn-killers

in spread their spawn their floating

drug plugs plunging taproots

deep into my perfect lawn my perfect

home my perfect wife my perfect kids

yes everything is perfect but

his pond I swear he doesn't use dunks

and every night a swarm but poison

might do it yes a little in the drink

kerploop no more invasions just perfection

that's all I want but they keep invading my

pristine monocrop just popping up

everywhere like loneliness or addiction or God

I'm so sad out here clipping the heads off these

flowers and I can't make it perfect I've tried

Never Let Go

By Jan Wiezorek

It’s been years—hasn’t it?

—since we sat here

in the dark, sitting here,

not knowing whether we

should, but trying once

again, sitting here looking

up into a sky of ourselves

at night, fingers touching,

quivers as we sit here,

I know you are close, our

backs, sitting here arched,

our ankles flexing, a wash

of Milky Way entering

our hug, holding on,

little said sitting here,

believing in spirit

and warmth, spotting her

magnitude, sitting here,

seeing her arrangement

of lights, adjusting our

hands under the gravity

of her pull, as she keeps

herself taut, her pose

fixed on tight prophecy,

as we sit here, her dreams

speaking for us, saying,

never let fly, never let go

*Adrift* by Dorothy Graden- dorothygraden.com
Poem Adrift by Anne Born - thebackpackpress.com

By Lisa Dykes

Many Years, Many Memories

As the years go by with a blink of the eye

Holding on to the one who holds my heart

Infatuated still with my one true love

Dashing dreams and whispers, we shall never part

We will soar side by side in the world beyond

And with freedom in the spaces between

Knowing friendship like this is from a divine source

I feel your presence sight unseen

Triptych

By Nancy Botkin

Really, who doesn’t love a spectacle?

Who doesn’t love an amped-up life

where it’s hard to separate fantasy

from reality? Life may or may not be

a circus. You’ll

have to part the curtains and walk onstage

to find the second level. Tilt your head

back and let all the cruelty fall

on your tongue. Let it burn and wait

for the applause. When

it comes time to rake in the winnings,

you’ll have to show your hand.

Who isn’t radiant when sealed in silent

contemplation with a face as stony

as the moon?

By Lori Caskey-Sigety

Two Horses and a Gentleman

Despite oncoming storms approaching,

two horses and a gentleman amble home

the gentleman thought best to fall behind

appearing calm while his friends guide them home

equine and human, in step and in sync,

human and equine, in sync

and in step,

two horses and a gentleman,

together forever friends.

By Brianna Petty

There once was a fairy named Wanda

With a job she was very fond of -

Every morn that breaks new

She sprinkles with dew

And leaves human eyes to wonder.

Wanda has seen the world-

Greece, Egypt, Paris, and Spain

But there is no fairer sight

In her fairy eyes

Than seeing Spring in Indiana

again

By MariJean Wegert

We

are bent like trees over our grief.

We

rise out of hell with the sacred in our hands:

What covered us will fuel this flame

We

knew what it was like to live in the belly of darkness

We

know what it’s like to be obscured

But we are willing to burn.

By Howard Mueller

Look at my king,

All dressed in red,

Singing bold,

Jockamo Fee Na Nay.

Chicago holds Lake Michigan,

Sent backwards by Chesbrough.

But here, they tried

To wash away everything—

The waters of Pontchartrain,

Twice as old as Christ.

A long black line,

Governing every crucifix,

A lagniappe of loss,

The gede walk

The Causeway Bridge.

Buddy Bolden’s horn,

Calling the children home.

PROJECT POETRY MONTH 2025