Tag Archives: bigger than they appear

“Rise and Shine” by Darren Jackson

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Bigger Than They Appear

The ritual of beginning
each day razor in hand steadies the mind.
Whether we see waterspots in the glass
or the face masked in cream is a question
of focus. Steady now, it’s time to begin.

–Darren Jackson,
Bigger Than They Appear
(Accents Publishing)

Darren Jackson is the Editor of Grist: The Journal for Writers. His work has appeared in Smartish Pace, Iron Horse, Cimarron Review and other journals.

“My Reward” by JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp

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Bigger Than They Appear

for looking up into
the tangle of pines:

a black fist of a bird landing
steady on the storm’s trick of a fallen
branch.

-JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp,
Bigger Than They Appear:
Anthology of Very Short Poems
Accents Publishing

JoAnn LoVerde-Dropp is the poetry workshop facilitator for The Georgia Writers’ Association, and she teaches Poetry Memoir workshops in both Georgia and North Carolina.

“Rapture” by Karen George

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Bigger Than They Apear

Leaves brush the car roof in a turnaround
tucked under a catalpa. I follow you
single file on a path the forest is reclaiming.
The woods hum around me like a second skin.

-Karen George,
Bigger Than They Appear:
Anthology of Very Short Poems
Accents Publishing

Karen George has received grants from The Kentucky Foundation for Women and The Kentucky Arts Council. Her chapbook, Into the Heartland, is available from Finishing Line Press.

“Winter Harvest” by Nettie Farris

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Bigger Than They Appear

A field remembers:

every spade,
potato, fungus,
and famine
sows its own
little mound
of sorrow;

the grazing of the cows
and the plowman,

leaving.

–Nettie Farris,
Bigger Than They Appear:
Anthology of Very Short Poems
Accents Publishing

More from Nettie Farris:

Nettie FarrisNettie Farris teaches writing as an adjunct instructor, roams the grounds of Mount Saint Francis Nature Sanctuary with her dog, and hikes the Millennium Trail at Bernheim Forest. Her work has appeared in the anthologies The Dark Woods I Cross: An Anthology of Contemporary Louisville Women Poets and Bigger Than They Appear: Anthology of Very Short Poems. She lives in Floyds Knobs, Indiana with her husband and three sons.

“Lost Cow” by Andrea O’Rourke

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Bigger Than They Appear

She is thin and speaks little.
Last time she was seen at the butcher’s
searching for blades of grass from her meadow.
She said the grass drooled ichor; it dribbled
on the way to the hooks, but the hooks held only
the disfigured, their mouths limp like laundry.

-Andrea O’Rourk,
Bigger than They Appear:
Anthology of Very Short Poems
(Accents Publishing)

Andrea O’Rourke, a native of Croatia, lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she paints abstracts and attends the New South Poetry Workshop at Georgia State University.

“No Small Typo” by Albert DeGenova

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Bigger Than They AppearYou demand, you command
with the drop of a comma
at the close of a letter
no small typo
this slip of the finger
love me
without proper punctuation
is more than flirtation
more than fire to a moth
more like
the cannibal’s dinner bell.

–Albert DeGenova,
Bigger than They Appear:
Anthology of Very Short Poems
(Accents Publishing)

Albert DeGenova has four poetry collections to his credit. He is the editor/publisher of the literary/arts magazine After Hours. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois.

“The Zen of Mountain Driving” by Christina Lovin

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Bigger Than They AppearDon’t brake. Accelerate
through the curves. Press hard
into the steering
wheel with the outside
arm. Relax the inside
grip. Forget the road.
Lean into the arc and eye
the solid line. Unbroken,
let it carry you
around the dark mountain
and safely down.

–Christina Lovin
Bigger than They Appear:
Anthology of Very Short Poems
(Accents Publishing)

Christina Lovin is the author of What We Burned for Warmth and Little Fires. Her work is supported by Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Foundation for Women, Elizabeth George Foundation.