Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty-year writer and the author of 11 published books of fiction and poetry and 2 stage plays. Her play ‘The Crooked Heart” concerning artist Jackson Pollock in his later years was presented as a staged reading on October 25, 2022 at the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC. Tepper’s new satirical Novel titled ‘Office’ is forthcoming from Wilderness House Press this month. Another Novel titled ‘Hair of a Fallen Angel’ will be published by Cervena Barva Press in the spring. http://www.susantepper.com

A Few on the End

By Susan Isla Tepper

Soon all will be quiet
take solace—
the rumbling trucks
will cease
that hideous whine induced by
Men and machines
blowing torrents of leaves
into the streets—
Done, for now, they’ll migrate.
Somewhere. As certain birds
move on each year.
During tragedy
one early winter
I watched
perfectly shaped black masses
crossing over rooftops—
glistening and clacking; like kite tails
come to life
trailing a few on the end.
Those nights— when there was
an opening, light pulsing the dark sky,
the soft grey clouds huffed
their brand of life into the bleak.
And I thought: it will never be finished.
We will never go back
to what was once cherished.

Clouds by Glenn Bowie

Glenn Bowie is a published poet, lyricist, and photographer from the Boston area. He also owns and operates an elevator company that supplies custom-built elevators for clients from New England to Hollywood. Author of two poetry and photograph collections (Under the Weight of Whispers and Into the Thorns and Honey) on Big Table Publishing, he donates all profits from his books to various charities for the homeless and local animal shelters.