Poem of the Month
#88 earth

By jasper avery

Published on November 5, 2018

you fill the water bottle
you found in the trash
with pondwater in the field
at recess
because it has been raining
and you like this

water is full
of mosquito larvae and water fleas
and you like this

they squirm around
water fleas swim the most beautiful
and you like this

you show your dad
your dad shows school administration
school administration
orders insecticides be sprayed
into the pond
you do not like this

all you wanted was small pond
of bottle full of magic

More Poetry

The Jungle of Screaming Souls

On the Jungle of Screaming Souls,
helicopters dropped napalm bombs.
The battalion of men beneath
ran in every direction, on fire. 
Scattershot blasts, and one by one
machine guns cut them down
until there were only ten.

Hermit Crab

Regardless of what you’ve been told, I moved in because I didn’t want to hear the ocean anymore, the slosh of ...

Versailles bus stop

I loved my colleagues and their playful putdowns. I loved the way they paid attention to clothes — as if they never considered how their tunics and smart pantsuits looked like upholstery.