Local poet Portia Brockway writes " I am beginning a new yoga initiative, Yoga Anywhere, which focuses on private and semi-private instruction in the Cambridge/Somerville vicinity. This yoga trainer/poet has been published in "Ibbetson Street," "Poetry Motel," "Spare Change News," and other journals. To contact Portia email her: portiabrockway1@verizon.net. To have your work considered send it to: Doug Holder  25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143

Like Rain

I try to buff my shoes
to look good for you
but I tremble too much.

The spots
and the dullness
remain.

Rain
fattens
weak branches.

Whenever I lose
your love, one falls.

Sodden cores
of amputated limbs
jut past black bark.

This week
no holy day
full of giving thanks
opens the door
to my soul;
no saintly auras
expand all around me.

I saw the body
of a dead crow today.

It no longer points the way
to my resurrection.

Now all I know is the grit
of my song stuck in my throat.