Family gathering for the living and deceased Table spread with savory foods, rich bread, and sweets A voided space between realms filled with laughter Candles lit for prayer, protection, and to guide our loved ones along the way Water poured into fancy glasses for libations and hydration Music playing to raise the frequency of the…
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Writing with purpose
I remember years ago I told my cousin JaJuan Harris that I wanted to take writing poetry, stories, raps, and songs more seriously. He gave me literally the BEST advice a big cousin could give! He told me to make sure that I write with purpose. To not mislead people, be a bad influence, or…
Still RYDE-ing the bus
Racine public transit director Trevor Jung faces challenges to keep Racine public transit ridership headed toward growth In his first two years as Director of Transportation and Mobility for the City of Racine, Trevor Jung has worked in tandem with Mayor Mason’s Paris Climate Accord pledge by increasing bike, scooter and pedestrian accessibility, while he’s…
A Tale of Two Causeways
City and county disagree over road names, with 400 feet of indigenous recognition but $30,000 short of more
On an Island in the Root River
A wide, mowed pathway takes you past two large stretches of colorful prairie grasses and pollinator plants, out to a clearing along shoreline overlook where you might see a great blue heron perched on the discarded Piggly Wiggly shopping cart on the opposite bank. Bees of various sizes and a range of patterned butterflies flit from bud to blossom.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” volunteer Dave Hecht says from under his tan straw hat when the thunder rolls.
Movements, Migrations & Transportations
A few words (or more) about the theme(s) of the July-Dec. 2023 residency Movement 1 The red brick of College Ave. covers roots I’ve grown into that wound around me on the hallows of kringled ground, where our trees curl upward and into each other even as concrete hides the shore that opens its tide’s…
A Sense of Truth
Hello, everybody, this is my final piece for my term as Racine Writer in Residence. I would like to thank the Racine Literacy Council for this opportunity. It has been a pleasure to share my work with all of you. These last six months have gone by fast and this position has kept me busy…
A Good Start (Joe Engel’s WIR Project)
You can find Joseph Engel’s Racine Writer in Residence audio project at http://josephengel.bandcamp.com
Holding the Line
By Joe Engel (This poem was previously published in “Harpur Palate”) The rusty train cars are twenty empty handed merchants sitting silent but ready like always; stubborn in the wind which whips a lash of brittle howls across this iron framed picture of sleep, this ubiquitous breeze, flustered by forgotten ways of freight, tosses a…
Since I’ve Never Known You
I wrote this poem when I was 23, living alone in a basement efficiency. It was inspired by my fascination for a girl I admired from a distance. We were both extremely reserved and I never did approach her. Anyway, the only distractions in the basement were the cockroaches, and ants, and my own thoughts…
