Elisabeth Mazzilli

Inspiration Piece

night crossing
fireflies signaling
the moon

Elizabeth Steinglass

Response

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Marilyn Ackerman
Inspiration piece

What If?
By Elizabeth Steinglass
Response

What if the Earth
was small
as a beach ball,
light enough to toss and catch
and tuck in your lap?

What if it was
so small
a butterfly could hover
over continents?

What if we could see
our globe’s white poles dissolving
into pools of blue that nibble
at the edges of green and brown puzzle pieces,
smoke rising from pinpricks,
storms swirling above the surface,
all at once in front of us?

What if we
were as large as gods,
as wise as farmers?
What would we do
with this tossable ball
in our hands?

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Note: All of the art, writing, and music on this site belongs to the person who created it. Copying or republishing anything you see here without express and written permission from the author or artist is strictly prohibited.

Red Dress
Tatyana Ostapenko
Inspiration piece

Red Dress
By Liz Steinglass
Response

1.

I remember

I had to have it,

Sensing somehow

It was already mine,

Sewn to my heart

Torn from me and

Set in the window

For others to claim.

I was desperate

For mending,

Desperate to have that dress

Knitted to my skin.

You understood.

You bought it for me,

Let me wear it home,

Let me wear it everyday

As I skipped through the woods,

And every night you washed it

And told me the story

Of the girl and the wolf.

2.

I thought it was a story

About a girl and a wolf,

Until I met the wolf

And he ate me.

He told me he loved

That red dress,

The way I wore it

When I walked,

Like it was part of me,

Like it was my skin

Flush with the blood

Of my heart.

When you pulled me out,

It didn’t feel like saving

Because I’d already died.

You claimed the body,

Filled it with food

And words,

Until it stood up,

Teetering

In high heels,

And set off across the land.

It took me a long time

To see the earth

As it is,

As you knew it,

With its dark holes,

Harrowed soil,

Restless waters and

Perennial forests.

3.

Before I enter the room

I see you

Looking out the window,

Seeing yourself

Out there

Rooted

Among the trees.

I am tempted

To leave you there,

But then I hear your voice

Telling me to do

What I’m supposed to do.

I think you know me,

Though you call me the wrong name,

Because you ask why

I’m not wearing

My red dress.

I tell you I’m grown up,

It doesn’t fit,

It’s been gone a long time,

But you shake your head,

As if I don’t understand

And ask me again.

Note: All of the art, writing, and music on this site belongs to the person who created it. Copying or republishing anything you see here without express and written permission from the author or artist is strictly prohibited.