Issue 58: Summer 2022

“A Psalm of David," “Commonwealth," and “The Paper Bridge"

When I, who/ is perishing,/ complain, You/ reply, You can/ perish. True.

A Psalm of David

When I, who
is perishing,
complain, You
reply, You can
perish. True.

 

Commonwealth

After the cherries blossom
and before the apple blossoms,
Joseph being already in Egypt,
sun caught on the other
side of South Mountain,
you shake like the last drop
of water in the faucet,
carry stale bread with you,
hide from your usual thoughts,
resemble your brothers.

 

The Paper Bridge

R’ Salaht                     People run

                                     by, bodies
                                     like
                                     factories,

                                     conclusion,
                                     knot,
                                     abscissa.

                                     They think
                                     something
                                     immeasurable,

                                     set fire to
                                     something
                                     important.

R’ Aschre                    But, like you said,
                                     the paper bridge.

About the author

Jonathan Dubow teaches at the University at Albany, and received his MFA in poetry from the University of Alabama. His poems have been published in Chattahoochee Review, Colorado ReviewDevil’s LakeGristJewish CurrentsSeattle Review, and Waccamaw.