Mr. Macklin takes his knife And carves the yellow pumpkin face: Three holes bring eyes and nose to life, The mouth has thirteen teeth in place. Then Mr. Macklin just for fun Transfers the corn-cob pipe from his Wry mouth to Jack’s, and everyone Dies laughing! O what fun it is Till Mr. Macklin draws the shade And lights the candle in Jack’s skull. Then all the inside dark is made As spooky and as horrorful As Halloween, and creepy crawl The shadows on the tool-house floor, With Jack’s face dancing on the wall. O Mr. Macklin! where's the door?
The universe demotes me,
yet again, to coin-operated laundry,
and each night, when everyone
is sleeping, our tongues all migrate
one mouth to the left. The tongue
in your mouth, now, is not
the one you started out with. Your tongue
is half a world away. None of my dead, either,
have ever been interested
in coming back. Plastic cups
drift into my yard
from the fraternity house across the street.
Brothers, I’ve been looking
for someone to hand my body
over to, so that the dirt
will not page through it. Rib bones
like lines, clouds like accordions,
and soon enough the rain
dropping like choir members. What can I say?
What could be said. The church
was always so hot. Tongue
come back, come back
for a little bit longer. I’ve only got
the one death to my name, one death
and I’m not going to ruin it.
Copyright © 2025 by Josh Bell. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on March 24, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.
the energy healer asks over speakerphone.
at her name “She’s old. We don’t know the
number …” a stiff stretch “... but she’s been
through it.” she slips off the bed “I just saw—
they took her babies.” curls up facing away
on the floor “Ah, that makes sense.” Her
frenzy when the mailman stomps across
the lawn, howling and hurling herself teeth-
first at the windows. “When you see inside
someone’s …” “Energy.” “... are you ever
shocked by how horrible it is?” “How do I
put this? Always.”
Copyright © 2025 by Jennifer L. Knox. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on March 12, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets.