By Jessica Ursell
in the remotest region of Kyrgyzstan
a makeshift crib
tenderly placed
under a tree
its darkly silvered
boughs
low and laden
with bounty
vast fields of crimson poppies
in the distance
as far as the eye can see
and closer
those velvety soft
blushing globes
of creamy rouge
drupes
Prunus persica
tempting
a tiny tot
pink chubby arms
outstretched
open mouthed
twin pearls
framed by rosebud lips
industriously imprinting
her mark
on all the
warm tawny
peaches
she welcomes
into her crib
Jessica Ursell is a United States Air Force veteran living with her husband in Southern Italy where she writes about love, power, finding one’s voice, and the mesmeric magic of il bel paese. The renowned European literary forum Versopolis published several of Jessica’s poems including The Uneasy Supplicant in Poetry Expo 2026 and her piece, Mariupol Madonna: an Elegy for the Mothers of Ukraine, in Poetry Expo 2025.
Other published works include: Ricotta Cheese English, and Slumber in Mediterranean Poetry; At the Country Club with Superman, and Standing Up for the Voiceless: My Fight with Royalty in Anne Frank’s House, The Jewish Writing Project. Sedimented Rock, and Climbing Vesuvius in Stilettos, Writing in a Woman’s Voice. Jessica’s poem, A Still-Life Collage of Lost Objects, can be found in Down in the Dirt magazine and in the book, The Limits of Language, as well as in the book, Where Icarus Went. Find more of Jessica’s work in Academy of the Heart and Mind; Iron Words: Israel War Stories; Ritualwell; and Fellowship & Fairydust.
Academy of the Heart And Mind 