The Skunk at Ennis Riffle

          by Barbara A Meier

The skunk at Ennis Riffle, 

pertinacity in black and white,

slipping into our campsite

on marshmallow toes, sticky paws, 

and a mouth full of graham cracker crumbs.

Desiring the Arctic cooler, 

but settling for the cardboard camping box.

Rustling the plastic bags like the hiss before a bomb goes off.

He lifts his dark chocolate tail in arrogance 

as he is chased back into the darkness.

He chuckles under the car as he waits

for his next opportunity, some more food,

some more time, he has it all.

Bio:  Barbara A Meier is a retired teacher who now works in a second-grade classroom as a paraprofessional in Lincoln, KS.  In her spare time, she likes to drive the dirt roads, watch the farming seasons, and explore the prairie. She loves all things ancient. She has been published in The Poeming Pigeon, Pure Slush, Metonym, Young Ravens Literary Review, and The Bangor Literary Journal. She has three chapbooks published: “Wildfire LAL 6”, from Ghost City Press, “Getting Through Gold Beach”, from Writing Knights Press, and  “Sylvan Grove”, from The Poetry Box.

Rain and Chopin

          by David Sapp

A Chopin waltz

Valse brillante

Turns plays upon

My old stereo

And a sudden

Summer storm

Hurries up Hill Road

Across the field

Sits on my roof

An audience filling

A conservatory hall

Rain applauds

Upon leaves

In rhythm with

The soloist’s fingertips

Gliding over keys

Finally – for now

There is nothing more

And nothing less than

Rain and Chopin

Bio:  David Sapp, writer, artist, and professor, lives along the southern shore of Lake Erie in North America. A Pushcart nominee, he was awarded Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Grants for poetry and the visual arts. His poems appear widely in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. His publications include articles in the Journal of Creative Behavior, chapbooks Close to Home and Two Buddha, a novel Flying Over Erie, and a book of poems and drawings titled Drawing Nirvana.