Erato
Because of the struggle, her arms and legs resisting, you might take one look at the shape in the snow and say, swan or angel, […]
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Nesting
Beneath the bridge, swallows mold the mask of a woman’s face, clustering mud and tufts of hair dredged up from a ditch, leaving an interruption large enough to enter, to spit wings, which is an odd way to invoke annunciation, a sudden blow. The bones are narrow, so the birds take […]
Elegy
No shepherds. No nymphs. Maybe just one: the girl the fawn strips like a fisherman’s rose. Death turns its mouth red. It can no longer lie in the lilies. Not on my watch. The lake is filthy with silver fish sticky with leeches. Lovesick, I flick a feather into the […]
Beth Bachmann Q&A on the form of her poem ‘Heaven’
Beth Bachmann talks about the formal strategy she employed in her poem “Heaven.”
Beth Bachmann Q&A on the her poem ‘Second Mystery of My Sister’
Beth Bachmann talks about the genesis of her poem “Second Mystery of My Sister.”
Beth Bachmann Q&A on the reading her work aloud while writing
Beth Bachmann talks about reading her work aloud while she writes.
Prayer in Hell’s Kitchen
I need an image to begin like the city needs another face thrown to the pavement, kneeled on and stained. Hell’s Kitchen knows how to welcome a stranger. Wilde ones, let us forgive the bitter pill delivered with each finger shoved down. Forgive tasting Judas. Forgive nothing. Here is the […]
The Crucifix
It hung from his neck in a kind and devastating way— hidden under his shirt and apron, wait staff uniform then blazer, when he finally found a good desk job. Walking through the living room after work he’d slowly loosen the knot of his tie, teasing it with his fingers and unbuttoning that top […]