What Should Be
Depression is not always darkness.Sometimes it’s padded-room whitenessthe brightness of claustrophobic conversationsindivisibly linked, infinite shards and chips,an overwhelming push toward cleavers of...
Sunrise
Each morning begins before night ends.The dog’s nose nudges her insistent hurryhurry! I can not wait! So in the dark, slow
with sleep and still...
Escape Velocity
Whenever clouds enshroudOrion’s hourglass of starsand the moon stays concealed,I feel a sadness, as if left alone.
Yet how many times have I seen,in...
Dandelion on the Lawn
little roar against shorn green.
Blemishes—to pry outby their stems, bouquets of bright defiance.
No, my father taught me, you wedgethe trowel down,...
In this special edition of The Mid-Atlantic Review, we celebrate the publication of Brandon Douglas' new book, Dipped in Cerulean. Brandon is the 2023...
Oldest Living Things
Spring again, dizzy with babies.Grisly groundhogs crawl from the shed.Frenzied Chipmunks traverse the drive.Cardinals dip and swirl over the doehiding in the...
When Langston Hughes Livedat 1749 S Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 1
Living with your motherand younger brother couldn’thave been easy.
In two rooms,with one oil heateryou...
A Simple MachineThe noose that was used to hang John Brown is allegedly in the permanent collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Frayed and wild...
