Michele Penn Diaz

She re-doubled her resolve to guide the horse into the ascendant. The scariest part of her time in darkness was knowing she could remain there, but for the instincts of her righteous horse.

Mary Shanley is a poet/writer who lives in New York City. Her poetry is informed by the spiritual nature of life, the mysteries of life, the landscape of New York City and beyond. Four of her books have been published: Hobo Code Poems by Vox Pop Press; Things They Left Behind, Poems for Faces and Mott Street Stories and Las Vegas Stories by Side Street Press. Mary publishes online at: Blaze Vox, Dream Noir, Underground Voices, Mobius, Radius, Mr. Bellers's Neighborhood, Blue Lake Review, Logos Journal, Hobo Camp Review, StepAway Magazine, Anak Sastra Journal, Shangra-la Magazine and more. She was the Featured Poet on WBAI fmRadio NYC, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Ms. Waterman

Michele Penn Diaz

Ms. Waterman was the name of our school secretary I thought it was Miss Watermelon her hair was even red My mom would steal smoke breaks with her after dropping off us kids When we caught her in the real world At a restaurant or the drug store It was as if a Clue suspect had escaped the game board to run some urgent errands and uncomfortably, I thought: Get back in there.

Michele Penn Diaz is a neurodivergent poet living in Portland, Oregon with her husband and an unruly schnauzer. In 2015, she received a BA in English from San Francisco State University. She works as a glorified receptionist and enjoys being surprised with peonies. She has forthcoming work in Rust + Moth.