University of Wisconsin-Madison

Poems by Adeline Lyons

UNDRESSING

flaming trees
whisper

I sought
infinite

turned
immovable

became
dimensional

shed
body

embraced
nakedness

found
light

froze
in reaching

for the absolute

FINDING, FULFILLED

fiercely, you freed me,
roughly parting the chained
veil of my keeping.

you knew not to touch
or look too deeply.
you claimed me,

cutting the barbed cage
with your smooth scythe.

aged eye gazing
on freshly fallen flesh,
you said,

cherish this gift.
ask for none other.

A Parable No Longer

By Lisa Sultani

The morning paper is held together
by my neck. Each spine piece is
something new, something sad.
Our children would be surprised 
to learn of these sad fragments
sculpting their world. 

We saturate pages 5 and 6 with
hair spray and hold them over the 
stovetop. Only the edges burn.
The main points are still visible,
which is more sad news.

I hold a rally in my mind. I summon
crowds to promote equality, peace,
a new world order. The unified masses 
wait expectantly, but I haven’t thought
through the next steps. I am saved by police,
drenching the fevered parties with tall firehoses.

Lisa Sultani earned her MA in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin- Madison, USA. She now lives in Atlanta, a place both inspiring and barren, as most cities tend to be. Her poems are included or forthcoming in CERASUS, Delta Poetry Review, J Journal and The Racket, among others.

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