Art by Leann E. Johnson
Old Rondo
By Donte Collins ● 2015
we were Ferris wheel watchers firefly fighters dollar store cap gun robbers cops and Sunday creased collars private school scholars giving the church basket the dollars our mothers slipped into our pockets seconds before.
Eating Philosophy
2015
Waitress walking across the bridge still smell like kitchen. Want to serve you my seven spice butter sauce blueberry eyes freshly baked buns grated parmesan hair.
Art by Chad Hambright
Good River Feeling Bad
By J. Otis Powell‽ ● 2015
Her voice is deep water, Though she’s too shallow this year for ships, Her body more round than angular, When I ask her questions I get more, Answers than I know what to do with, She says her name in whispers
Grandma’s Arms
2015
Grandma’s brown arms
wrapped around the world
and held it tight,
close to her bosom,
close to her heartbeat.
Grandma’s brown arms
always listened,
paid attention,
knew just how tight
to squeeze,
and when to let go.
The Cathedral—June Thirteenth
2015
Because the vistas end in arches that do not change And the grillwork of sails forecasts a season of palms The dove holds a steady hover over the crossroads of
An Invitation from Minnesota Author and Illustrator: Minnesota State Fair A to Z!
2014
Count twelve days back from Labor Day and you can always figure out the starting date of the Minnesota State Fair, the largest fair in the United States. Texans argue
The True Box of Life
By Students of Gordon Parks High School ● 2014
Kofi Bobby Hickman taught us about the three snakes of life: the cobra snake—it lures you in; the rattlesnake—it warns you; and the garter snake—it bites you without warning.
Selby Avenue, 1970
By Marcie Rendon ● 2014
As a teenager I drove grain trucks, pickup trucks, and Massey Ferguson tractors for farmers in the Red River Valley. I hauled oats, corn, and soybeans and drove alongside combines as wheat poured into truck beds. I plowed fields and threw straw bales. While not an idyllic life by any means, it was a life of sunshine and even golder harvest moons.
Choose Your Adventure: A Saint Paul Guide for College Students and Twenty-Somethings
2014
Yes, Saint Paul is the mellow sister city to Minneapolis, prime family-raising territory and, from the mansions on Summit to the bluffs gazing over the river, a place to walk and contemplate. But whether you’ve got a week or four years here to explore, Saint Paul is also a place where you can be adventurous, curious, and free.