In this picture you see the half face of poet Robert K. Johnson outside the window of the house at 33 Ibbetson Street in Somerville, Mass. This is where Somerville’s literary magazine Ibbetson Street was birthed in 1998.

DARKNESS BACKS OFF FROM MY BED

and I slide free from the tangle

of blankets and pull them smooth;

then rid my room of clutter–

clothes strewn on chairs, loose change

scattered on top of a bureau;

and cleanse my palate of any

lingering taste of anger

or regret, so I can savor

this newest day.

HOW THE MIND LOVES

to play a kind

of peek-a-boo with us–

quickly revealing

in the morning

dozens of words

we put in

crossword-puzzle squares

but hiding

in some secret place

till nightfall

eight more words we need

to fill the other squares.

Alternative?

Addition?

Whatever.

THE DAY’S SUNLIGHT

does not now become

brighter, or glow

more softly; the leaves,

noon still, are not

breeze-surprised

to the least stir;

the nest-resting birds

stay hushed behind

their trees’ thick green;

yet an unseen feather

quick brushes my skin

and joy

rills through me.

– Robert K.Johnson

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