First Rain

Nika Herrnstadt

The parched earth pleads with the sky But like a man shallow with dehydration, Your pores clog, And the world is filled with water. And everything is lost. I lost you in the flood of first rains, You who lived through death unscathed.

I lost you to water, To the desert, To the sky.

I lost you to a flood so biblical, so I cry: I never even got to say goodbye.

The Crow in Winter

Village in Winter

Caroline Denmark

The crisp cold air plays with the villagers, Sliding on the crunchy ice.

The clouds, a heavy blanket that traps the cold

Brittle trees sway in the dry wind.

Long-haired horses clip-clop along slippery ice

“Extra! Extra!” shouts a little boy.

People huddle, little bundles of warmth

Like small fires built up, stick by stick.

Sturdy brick buildings create pale shadows

Everyone thinks their own thoughts in this village in winter.