30Sep 2026 Lorri Ventura

My Grandmother’s Geese

featured in the poetry forum
The scrawny baby perched on her father’s shoulders has bruises on her arms, legs, and face that are prominent enough to be the focal point in the old Baby Brownie... Read More
editors note:

The hard truth from one who’s goosed. – mh clay

1Dec 2025 Lorri Ventura

YOGA CLASS

featured in the poetry forum
Shining in color-coordinated spandex attire Taut bodies Roll out their designer yoga mats As their brand-name water bottles Clatter to the studio floor They languorously stretch and twist Warming up... Read More
editors note:

That strain on the body is no stretch for the soul. – mh clay

24Jul 2025 Lorri Ventura

Role Model

featured in the poetry forum
She was the reason we have mother-in-law jokes. When she first learned that her only child was engaged to a mere mortal, she shouted disparaging remarks about my ethnicity, telling... Read More
editors note:

Here we learn how NOT to to be. – mh clay

9Mar 2025 Lorri Ventura

A BOSTONIAN

featured in the poetry forum
His home is a rag-filled refrigerator box Propped crookedly on broken sidewalk Alongside the Boston Common When I ask his name He says, “Just call me ‘Least of Your Brothers,’”... Read More
editors note:

What we do unto the least of these… – mh clay

26Dec 2024 Lorri Ventura

Not in My Backyard

featured in the poetry forum
The woven chaise lounge creaks its protest As I shift my weight While turning the page of the book I’m reading The backyard offers a symphony A Carolina wren serenades... Read More
editors note:

For once, may the New Year mark a new beginning for these sisters and all. – mh clay

10Aug 2024 Lorri Ventura

PAUPERS’ CEMETERY

featured in the poetry forum
Turkey vultures Venture beyond a nearby landfill Circling evocatively above the paupers’ graves On Mayflower Hill. Grave markers resemble key heads Bearing not names, but numerals A potter’s field Stretches... Read More
editors note:

Even after, it’s “take a number” and wait for no call. (We welcome Lorri to our crazy congress of Contributing Poets with this submission. Read more of her madness on her new page – check it out.) – mh clay

26Apr 2024 Lorri Ventura

SANCTUARY

featured in the poetry forum
The moon drops into the child’s black-and-blue arms Nestling there contentedly As the little girl bobs across her backyard Limps up the steps leading to her house And ducks into... Read More
editors note:

May we be it for those who need it. – mh clay

6Feb 2023 Lorri Ventura

WOMAN IN A NURSING HOME

featured in the poetry forum
The skin on the backs of her hands Looks like lady slipper petals Translucent Tiny-veined So delicate She scratches it incessantly Buckled into a wheelchair By the elevator door In... Read More
editors note:

They scare us because they might be us one day. – mh clay