Landscapes

Landscapes#

Oh, hapless world, the butcher’s block,
The sickle, scythe, harpoon,
The barren fields, the culled livestock,
The blood red harvest moon.

The ocean deep, a darkened heart,
A sore that festers cold,
A slumbered age, a violent art,
Into all things behold:

The forests wild, the stalking hunt,
The arrow cut from stone,
The bloody rib, the final grunt,
A death in whimpered groan.

The mountain peaks, a falling height,
The air in sky dissolved,
A winter wind, a bitter blight,
Let no sin be absolved.

The city streets, the graveyard paths,
The linen beds of wards,
The gowns of white, the final baths,
The oak in coffin boards.
  • April 2025

Submission History#

Date

Publication

Status

April 7, 2025

Paris Review

Rejected

April 7, 2025

The New Yorker

Pending

May 10, 2025

North Appalachia Review

Pending

June 4, 2025

Swan Scythe Press

Rejected

October 6th, 2025

Skummel Magazine

Pending