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Inspired by other poets: Poems from Jennifer Hurley, Norbert Krapf, and Diane Lewis

I Watched Him
by Jennifer Hurley

I am no source of honey or sweet
but a swarm of domesticated honeybees
buzz wintry-weak in my stomach, their
fuzz bristly wire bottle brushes slowly
scraping away cleaning what’s (left) inside.

The emptiness overwhelms early in the day
when the house is so quiet sun yellow warm
I forget to crowd the halls with memories my
son simply hiding, shadows. He had loved
playing in the front yard pines lining the edge

and he knew better at least I thought
I taught him better but he ran into the street
after a dry brown oak leaf bigger than my
hand curling edges teased him along his
fingers reaching out never taking hold. Alone

I watched him from the living room
window not even sure what I was doing
so I’ll say drying a glass to prevent
water spots not protesting because I didn’t
know I didn’t know how far he would

run or how unnaturally his body would
hover legs splayed arms limp socks bloody.

Italicized text from Sylvia Plath’s “The Arrival of the Bee Box”


Bio: Jennifer Hurley received an M.A. in Liberal Studies, Concentration: English, from Valparaiso University. She currently teaches English at Valparaiso High School. Her poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in various literary publications, including The Cresset, Etchings, Plath Profiles (multiple issues), and Valparaiso Poetry Review.

To read Sylvia Plath’s “The Arrival of the Bee Box,” click http://www.angelfire.com/tn/plath/arrival.html



Postcard to a Spanish Poet
by Norbert Krapf

Antonio Machado, how
can you dive so deep
in such small ponds?


Bio: Indiana Poet Laureate 2008-10, Norbert Krapf is the author of ten full-length poetry collections, the latest being American Dreams: Reveries and Reflections (2013) and Songs in Sepia and Black and White (2012). In April 2014 his Catholic Boy Blues: A Poet's Journal of Healing appeared. He has collaborated with jazz pianist Monika Herzig, with whom he released a CD, Imagine, and with bluesman Gordon Bonham. He has also collaborated with photographers Daryl Jones, David Pierini, and Richard Fields in books published by Indiana University Press.



The Response to Mary Oliver’s Poem “Heavy”
by Diane Lewis

This time
I went closer to see;
touched the scaly skin of grief
and did not turn away

This time
I visited with ancestors
who never knew me
and was not shunned

This time
I lingered at Grand Lady’s lap
long enough to hear
stories of my grandfather’s exploits
and was not ashamed

I paused this time
as the unexpected emotions
of the loss, the joy
preyed on an easy victim
yet

This time, I would not die alone


Bio: Diane Lewis is the Arts Council of Indianapolis’ 2010 Robert D. Beckmann Emerging Artist Fellow. She is a member of The Indiana Writers Center and participates in other local writers’ groups. Her dream is to teach college-level creative writing while working on her own career as a published poet.

To read Mary Oliver’s “Heavy,” click http://www.christiancentury.org/contributor/mary-oliver