“Habits” © Edward Michael Supranowicz

 

Oh, Red Queen

rise above the rubble
of sorrow,
crushed dreams.
Open your heart
again.
We need your
strength
even the anger
to lead us forward
to do all that must be done.
It will be
arduous
complicated
take years.
We are here for you.
We ask only that you
champion community
choose peace

continue.

 

An ekphrastic written after seeing an uncredited photo on Facebook of a teenage girl in her vivid red dress standing in the rubble of her high school where she was set to attend
her prom which was cancelled because Russian bombs landed in Ukraine.

 

Diana Rosen writes about tea, coffee, and spices, but mostly about Camellia sinensis, for books, online content, and even haiku. She also writes essays, flash, and poetry in East Hollywood where her “backyard” is the largest urban green space in the U.S., the 4,000+acre Griffith Park which is, blessedly, free to all to explore by foot, horse, mini train, or (egads) car. She has a fairly new book out, her first hybrid, High Stakes & Expectations, which is available via thetinypublisher.com

Edward Michael Supranowicz is the grandson of Irish and Russian/Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia. He has a grad background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently or will soon appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, The Door Is A Jar, The Phoenix, and The Harvard Advocate. Edward is also a published poet who has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times