Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of African Psycho Review of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid Film Review of "Judith Butler: Philosophical Encounters of the Third Kind" Writing Contest Results Creative Nonfiction Back Pain...Who Cares? By Michael D. Burg Knit Two Together By Jo L. Gerrard Skin Odyssey By Holly Leigh Jacobson Leaves in the Wind By Molly Molloy Hydroglyphics By Phaedra Greenwood Poetry Indiana Poem By Michael Lee Johnson Inspire Me, Ms. Muse By Tony Zurlo A Poem Forgot By Gabrielle Rabinowitz Yours By Sheila McLaughlin Sikorski Confetti By Alan Girling Correction: Drive Me Home Again By Anne Cammon Fiction Scaffold By Joseph Bathanti For the Taking By Anne Leigh Parrish The Artistic Impulse By Johanna Lipford Justifiable Brew Aside By Barbara Anton Stopping at the DQ By Susan White Cover Art Bright Red By Dee Rimbaud About the Contributors © 2007, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Vacant Policy Director - PA State Rep. Jess Stairs Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Senior Editor - Patti Kurtz Senior Editor - Neeldhara Misra Copyeditor - Kathy Skaggs Blog Contributing Editor - Maggie Koster Education Blog Contributing Editor - Jordan Wirfs-Brock Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/subs.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit VolunteerMatch. |
Inspire Me, Ms. Muse By Tony Zurlo I’ll write the most beautiful sonnet you’ve ever read, if you will inspire me, Ms Muse, from far away. I’ll write it after my chores are done. Vacuuming and scrubbing and dusting— Not all at once, of course. I found the sledge hammer and butcher knife, so I’ll fix that damn dripping faucet and exterminate the roaches in the cabinet, as soon as I watch the quarter finals of— And stop for a chat at the corner pub— And catch Rocky II on the tube tonight— Ms Muse, Inspire me. But please recall my duties in the yard. The sprinkler died, the hose leaks, and the mower is in mourning. “An Elegy for a Parched Lawn”: “Heaven please take back the lawn you lent For this work my body was never meant.” Don’t give up so soon, Ms Muse. It’s only a draft. The craft changes too fast. Teach me how to write today’s figures of speech, some modern imagery. I need a metaphor for a monkey wrench. Should I rhyme my verse or set it free? Depend on allusion, elusion, or illusion? Ms Muse, I need you here to inspire me. The dog stays out all night, the cat disappeared, and the Panda had babies—Where are the diapers? |