If I Were My Dad

If I were my Dad,

I would wear a bright

red sport coat to church.

Visit the sick,

read my Bible early every morning,

fall asleep while watching T.V.

Write poetry to my wife,

make kraut in a bit crock,

encourage my children.

Because of my red hair,

my temper would flare,

I would smile and laugh often.

— Janet Taggart, Nashville

Nothing Else

Yesterday was great

And I really believe in this

Existential tomorrow

But what I have that is real

Is literally this now

This present moment

Nothing else.

— Neil Frederick, Brown County

Tell Me How Many

How many dead babies

must we see

pulled from the rubble in Gaza City?

How many hungry children

must we see

in Yemen, in Syria, in Africa,

in Mississippi?

How many dead children

must there be

from the bullets, the bombs and mines

from this lost society?

How many? How much?

How long?

When is enough enough?

— John “JD” Dunfee, Brown County