Boudin Issues – Page 2 – The McNeese Review

Oliver & Goldfish

Jennifer Sepso __________ Oliver Mid-stride, he collapses— not fallen,just hungry.As dramatic asa high school productionof Romeo and Juliet.Spine long as breath, he stretches until the room pauses in respect.Deliberately he yawns: a flare of pink, a carnivorouscathedral of teeth. Then trots off, tail held high— a banner, not a question.Tucks…

Junefly

Junefly JD Del Rey __________ The mayfly spends years As a nymph: Swimming. It blooms for one day, And takes magnificent flight, Without mouth or stomach, In its final molting form. We bemoan its short Moment of glory, But at thirty-nine I now Envy even this Minute on the wing.…

Porcupine, Thirty-One Years Later, Pocket Gopher, Thou Hath Eaten All My Daisies And So I Write This Poem To You, & The Mallard and Me

Paige Milatz __________ Porcupine, Thirty-One Years Later I would like to tellMiss Oliverabout my good luck,my encounter with a porcupinein quill and forest:A recently tumbledCottonwood tree, leaves still glossy greenleaning away from the riverinstead of upright and there she was. How slow, how sloth-likeshe moved on the branchesof the thick tree!…

Merlin

Merlin Valerie Egar __________ A cat not there until he is— sudden appearance his dark art. Hidden in shadow, he side-way skitters from corners, lurks under the bed, pops his claws out to snag me. He perches on the bookshelf above my head, hurls himself onto the sofa as soon as I curl up. Mysterious as the Sphinx, he…

Rainbow Bridge, My Ass

Rainbow Bridge, My Ass Deron Eckert __________ Dogs can’t even see half the rainbowand half of them fear walking bridges. Let them cross a field of rare steaks or swim a stream filled with smoked salmon. Imagine each dog leaving this world for an abundance of something they love. Better yet, imagine…

When my hands touched the sun

When my hands touched the sun Scout Clancy Batreau __________ When I was younger,not yet in school,my father was cleaning the fishtankand our goldfish had to momentarily reside in the stained washing up bowl.I was warned not to touch himbut I found my small uncontrolled handsstroking his body beneath the surface,a…

Dreams of an Old Cat

Dreams of an Old Cat Meg Pokrass __________ Waiting for the vet to arrive with his needle, the doorbell startles early. Swallowing a lump, I open the door to a rumpled middle-aged man. “Come in and sit down. I’ll put the kettle on.” “Sure. Thank you,” he says awkwardly. On…

Of the Cat’s Deathly Inquiries

Of the Cat’s Deathly Inquiries Racquel Lee __________ A cat, such a small, antsy little thing, asks one question when one of its lives has been taken. Each question that was asked— whether the death was minuscule or significant in its impermanence, whether that death was something that could’ve been…

Hope is the thing with feathers

Hope is the thing with feathers Mark LaMonda __________ For some reason it seemed that most of what was in our house was either my father’s or my sister’s. My mother had been dead for three years, and my father favored my sister. But, my father did give me an…

The New Human

The New Human Shelagh Hardrich __________ She heard it before she understood it. A sound like the mountain clearing its throat — low and rolling, wrong in the way thunder was wrong when there was no cloud. She was inside, in the good warm spot near the heating box, and…