A Sample of the Spring
2007 Issue of Southwinds, UMR’s Literary
Magazine
(to purchase your own copy of the complete issue, please
email swinds@umr.edu. Only $3! Back issues also available.)
Joshua Hoffman
A Word On
Inspiration
Jose Rodriguez
There
is a moment in the stream of our lives
When
Idea falls like a pinprick.
Words
crawl under our skin,
Filled with the ink of our experiences.
A soft burning of thoughts slowly crisp our minds.
Ashes
drift to paper while the precious fuel of our own inspiration burns away.
The
pen and paper ease the pain,
The frustrating bondage of withheld phrases.
The
words flood out, like ink falling in place of raindrops in a fierce storm.
The
moment has passed
The
inspiration burned away,
Sit
back, exhausted, and see the thing made.
Words
lay on blank paper like so many shapeless corpses.
From
their death,
Will
come my poetry.
Joseph Cohn
Recipe
Poem:
A Summer Night
LeAnn Helling
Start
with an evening with a sky full of stars
Now
add the August locust calls
Chime
in a pinch of water tree frogs
Measure
out the cricket songs
Spoon
in the sultry warm night air
That
drips the grass with dotted dew
Add
a dip in a glimmering pool or a swallowy lake
And
the glow of full moon overhead
This
the perfect combination for a summer night not spent in bed
Savor
the flavor and take in the aroma
For
summer is all but over
Brianna Rackmyer
Seasons
Joseph Siebert
A
kiss of tender sweetness
as
the rain drizzles 'round
A
hug of youthful joy
as
the sun warms the ground
A
touch of gentle calming
as
the clouds fill the sky
A
word of dear affection
as
the wind whirls by
A
laugh of shear abandon
as
the snow falls on the lawn
A
sight of pure perfection
as
the day begins to dawn
A
tear of unknown feeling
as
the fog comes rolling through
A
smile of timid wonder
as
the grass fills with dew
A
thing of perfect beauty
as
the years go flowing past
A
pair of souls together
as
their love was meant to last.
Paul Magaha
CUT!
If Pandora’s Box
unleashed evil on the world,
then Caligari’s Cabinet unleashed
death on the cinema.
Max Tohline
No
one in the room a new breath takes
In
theatres where open silent eyes,
When Cesar the Somnambulist awakes.
The
editor his grave decision makes
And
And
no one in the room a new breath takes.
Ninety
shower cuts and cars pulled up from lakes
Will
come from murderers who harm no flies
When Cesar the Somnambulist awakes.
But
splice is false and all those squibs are fakes;
In
blood ballet,
Yet
no one in the room a new breath takes.
Truth
edits not – Zapruder’s camera shakes –
Frame
three-thirteen will blow away the lies
That
Cesar the Somnambulist awakes.
He
sees the frame where your last reel breaks,
Won’t
blink, but glares with cigarette burn eyes,
And
no one in the room a new breath takes
When Cesar the Somnambulist awakes.
Jordan Varble
The
works in this volume of Southwinds Literary Magazine
as well as on this website for promotional purposes are here reproduced by
special one-time permission from their creators. The creators of all the works in this
volume retain their original copyrights.
Unauthorized reproduction of these works is prohibited.