Michael Potter, our poet this issue, is one of our first readers to be featured in a long time.
You are not in the corner to be punished. This is where the beauty is hiding.
Michael Potter, is an emerging writer. Recent published work includes a short fiction piece, “This Very Night” in The Hyacinth Review, and a poem, “Perseids” in the California Quarterly print edition. Michael has a background in IT, enjoys working with open-source software, and lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two cats.
I am delighted to feature poems in this issue from a reader – our first reader featured in a while. Let’s make this a trend – I would love to see your work. The poet’s name is Michael Potter, and the poems are thoughtful and timely. ‘Dawn’ reflects on human savagery and laments our inability to rise above it. We want to dominate, to be godlike, not realizing our failure to be one with the natural world is what prevents us from being divine. In ‘Cleaning Day’ the question is simple: what would we see if we pulled back the curtain? I hope you enjoy these two lovely poems by Michael Potter as much as I did.
~Monique Montgomery
DAWN
Yesterday we emerged,
blinking, from caves.
We marvel at our advances,
iterations of fire and spears.
Once, we knew
our place in nature,
now we are gods,
ever more savage.
Michael Potter
Cleaning day
Aren’t everyone’s drapes
the loveliest?
What if we neighbors
tore them,
ripped the dusty covers,
let sunlight stream
and compared the view
through naked panes?
Michael Potter
