Susan Isla Tepper has a Novella coming out shortly from Wilderness House Press.  A twenty-year writer, she has penned 14 published books of fiction and poetry and 7 Stage Plays. Honors include 25 Pushcart Prize Nominations, a win in the Francis Ford Copolla Zoetrope Contest for the Novel (2003), Second Place Winner in Story/South Million Writers Award and many more awards. Her stage play ‘The Crooked Heart’ concerning artist Jackson Pollock premiered on October 25, 2022, at the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC. Adapted from an earlier novel, it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Susan is a Brand Ambassador for The Galway Review.
http://www.susantepper.com

Just In Case

By Susan Isla Tepper

Down these stairs
in all weather
blue walls
accost you each morning

You take to wearing
dark shades
for protection—
A second key cut
just in case—

You begin to wonder:
Real or a construct
designed to get you
through time.
If not real
clutching your skull then
smashing all the clocks
you’ve despaired a lot
for what reason.

Photography by Glenn Bowie

Glenn Bowie is a published poet, lyricist, musician 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.