Delicately painted in blueOn pottery and ChinaWeeping branchesWafting in waters at rivers’ edgesUseful for erosion controlAnd windbreaksDense canopies birds’ safe havensOffering nesting sites and refugeHardy trees, softPliant but toughWood fibres criss-crossingPerfect for cricket batsShaped, oiled, lovedMillions of athletes beltingLeather balls for sixFamilies cheering onYin and Yang. ResilientRepresents flexibilityAnd strengthAbility to adapt toAll of life's challengesA … Continue reading AHM’s 9th Anniversary: “Nine Willow Trees” by Julia Vaughan
Here
By Alina Lee The middle-aged menwearing a fuzzy, apricot hoodand a brand-new purple hatwaves towards a childwho is running across the street with a big smile on his face The young man,leaning towards an old wallmade of reddish bricks and grey stonesis wrapped around a brown leather jacketand a white turtle-neck. crossing the street light … Continue reading Here
Don’t Forget to Submit to Our AHM’s 9th Anniversary Contest!
Submissions are due by May 15th. Here are the contest parameters: It’s our ninth anniversary so we would like to read poetry, stories, and essays that exemplify the traditional gifts for nine years: Pottery Bronze Willows Or some nontraditional ones Leather Terra Cotta Lapis Lazuli Poppy
Ursa Minor and Low Tides
By Ben Macnair Ursa Minor Six months before his final heart attack,my Grandfather stopped to stareat the night sky.His fingers traced the shapes and the outlinesof the Big Dipper, and the Plough,joining the stars that made Orion’s Belt.Sometimes, when walking through the inky blacknessI stare at the stars,who haven’t aged a day,and think of him.Maybe … Continue reading Ursa Minor and Low Tides
New Book!
Channie Greenberg is happy to share with you the birth of anew book, No One Sighs Over Wastrels' Graves (https://www.amazon.com/One-Sighs-Over-Wastrels-Graves/dp/B0GQTDXJFZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2D070O61NTK3D&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9zvYJqCob8dMjnfJ1WEgK6qwKIf2ddoqm3BWtIartwZce654VmrxjKjPb4jkzQXIeRLO8X1jz2auW-iKC8R62Y-mMZAwk-Vm361FBZek-qvNwVrFWnNK-6dLR8w-yAiVp5Fx_EM-0oe6f9hhYwGyMShElq3GWNRU2uYH_6qoenWaFtsgvOF0l_hTEG5Fv9iB4qc6UceFUFbuQEfYCKRalzN8gAJejXqSK2A83U0ovUo.3TeC30tJSVSBW32iyemBxyqA5oHmV-ecmhDgI-lXA7Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=kj+hannah+greenberg&qid=1772583390&s=books&sprefix=kj+hannah+greenberg%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C259&sr=1-1) This collection of art and poetry contains images originally published in The Academy of the Heart and Mind
in which poetry is a form of exorcism
By Haeun Kim tick tick tick. the shaman’s mouth steams,lip naked and hot like a teapot handle. sherescues the soul of the drowned, disguisedas byeolsang, spirits of another world. under-water, she swallows the saliva clawing upher throat to join the saltwater. tick tick tick.never let it out. she releases the unjustlydead, souls pouring like liquid. … Continue reading in which poetry is a form of exorcism
Library Collections
By Benedicte Grima When I walk into a house, the first thing my eyes tune into is the presence or absence of books. I am immediately unsettled by the invisible volumes, and the space seems stark, lifeless. When I watch speakers on television talk from their homes and offices, I scour the bookshelves behind them, … Continue reading Library Collections
Foxes
By Alex Carrigan After Ada Limón It took me over three decadesto learn how bad a fox smells.My mother told me that onecame up to her backyard fencerecently while she was playingwith her dog in the yard. Her dog likes to press his one ear against the slats, chew a ball, then drop it down … Continue reading Foxes
Winners of the November Contest
Here are the winners of our eleventh 2025 Contest! The dates next to their names will be the day their work will be posted to our website. 28: Bronze Winner: Oleg Daugovish 29: Silver Winner: Ken Gosse 30: Gold Winner: Clarence Heller Thank you to everyone who entered into our contest!
13 Days of Halloween: Flint by William Swanger
I heard something rustle close by, but I was in my invincible teens and so pondered no further whether deer, fox, raccoon or suspicious person was paralleling my course through the cornstalks. Besides, I was on a mission, my hand clutching a bag of flint corn. My friend had brought the corn to our meetup. … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: Flint by William Swanger
Academy of the Heart And Mind 