Category: Poetry

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Hedge Apple Reception on Oct. 24th

The Fall 2015 Issue of the HCC literary magazine has arrived! Please join us for the annual Hedge Apple Reception.

WHEN:         Saturday, October 24th, 2015

1:30 — Conversation and sign-ups, quick group writing exercise

1:45 — Prose and poetry readings by contributors, followed by an open mic session

 

WHERE:     Black Box Theater, Kepler, Hagerstown Community College

 

The reception is open to the public and copies of the Hedge Apple magazine are complimentary. Please stop by for some or all of the reception.

Special congratulations to the 2015 participants of the Hub City Teen Writers Conference who will be published here starting on October 10th. Please check back for 5 great pieces of poetry and fiction!

 

The submission deadline for next year’s Hedge Apple is January 31st 2016.

Email your poetry, fiction, artwork, or photography, with a brief bio, to [email protected]

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The Dreams I Can’t Forget by Jacob Basset

Jacob Basset

The Dreams I Can’t Forget

I dreamt of you again last night:
Golden, auburn shackles gripping
Lifeless pools, shallow crystal probing
Speckled snowfall in hapless bounding
You didn’t see me; I didn’t speak.

I dreamt of you again last night:
Hollow echoes joyfully doubled
Rare thoughts dutifully offered
Branding touch so coyly forced
You wouldn’t leave me; I couldn’t breathe.

I dreamt of you again last night:
We share a dying situation
We hold the time by hurting
We live, clinging, suffuse the air
You say you love me; I tell you, too.

I dreamt of you again last night:
Sick of what I say
Tired of who I am
Frustrated with my mind
Disappointed by my body
Insisting nothing changed but
Burying me
Drowning me
Strangling me
Leaving me
You apologize; I can only beg.

I dreamt of you again last night:
I still marvel at your silken hair
I still stare at your eyes, transfixed
I still find your pale skin perfectly flawed
You won’t look at me; I don’t know why.

I dreamt of you again last night:
You laugh with him, unfazed
You talk with him, the same
You draw him close, but more
You love him, maybe; I used to love.

I dreamt of you again last night:
Sky broken open, forever dividing
Ground bent, drawing together
Connected, severed
You are the same; I am the same.

I dreamt of you again last night:
The air between us is stagnant
The moments are unbearable
This will never change
We cannot return
Even though we never left
This, too, will never change
We aren’t in love
You always seem to be
This will never change
You are for someone else; I am for you.

I will dare to move
I will run from you
I will crawl out of my darkness
I will flee from this terror
I will change
I will become something new
I will do everything to improve
I will turn myself into a hero
I will live to please you
I will, I will
You don’t know; I think I do.

But for now,
I dream of you every night.

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One Last Cry by Michelle Dean

Michelle Dean

One Last Cry

It’s painful I cannot lie
I tried so hard
Now it’s time for one last cry

I can’t hold on to the why
I must move on
This is my one last cry

Memories of us when everything was fine
I’m erasing it all
Because this is my one last cry

I’ll listen to the music we shared one last time
It will hurt
But I must have this one last cry

You picked me up so high
Only to let me fall
Now I’ll have my one last cry

You said goodbye
And today I’ll accept it
Right after this one last cry

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Of Life by Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson

Of Life

Be restless.
Claim your life.
Sing every song.
Listen to the silence.
Dance every day.
Climb every mountain.
Move while you are breathing.
God has made the earth.
God has made you.
Live.

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My Little One by Rachel Pack

Rachel Pack

My Little One

I dreamed I’d have a little one who’d never have to struggle,
He’d walk the world with peace of mind and never encounter trouble.
As I held him in my arms at last, this dream flashed through my mind,
His imperfection was made clear which I accepted in due time.

This little life that I created would be tested from day one,
He’d face difficulties day to day and have nowhere to run.
The saddest part about it all is that he’s perfect in my eyes,
Yet others were so critical when he fussed and cried.

It bothered me to know the truth and for them not to understand,
How hard it is to want to speak the words so close at hand.
You see, his tears were from frustration, his brain was not his friend,
He could not express just what he felt; it was so hard to comprehend.

To see how he was suffering just simply broke my heart,
I questioned why my little one was different from the start.
Yet I knew that with some extra love, he would reach his full potential,
He would discover that his voice was there; it really was that simple.

This trial has taught me many things, but mostly to be grateful,
And to remember to be kind because the world can be so hateful.
I hope when he grows big and strong, his imperfection is embraced,
And that his kindness is passed along to make the world a better place.

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She Had the Misfortune to be a Woman by Delphine Ngokattal

Delphine Ngokattal

She Had the Misfortune to be a Woman

She had the misfortune to be a woman
In a society that looked cannibalistic
Where the right to kill
Only men had

She had the misfortune to be a woman
Where woman existed only in name
Where they were objects
Where the gods gave
Favors only to men

She had the misfortune to be a woman
In that misogyny society
Masculinized
Insensible
Insane

She had the misfortune to be a woman
To oppose herself against the rock
The men government
Those who to their advantages
Made and unmade laws
She dared to criticize the death of a daughter
Resolved to punish the murderer
The great king
The hero of war
Her husband…

But she had the misfortune to be a woman
She protested against this system
Changed the order of things
Punish the guilty

But her misfortune
She was a woman
Yes! Because she dared
She had to be punished
She had to be killed
Clytaemnestra!

Her misery: she was a woman

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Metaphor Poem by Stephanie Eberly

Stephanie Eberly

Metaphor Poem

An ember plants inside your mind,
Its heat smolders,
Leaving a burning desire to grow,
Grow into a roaring fire.

Day to day it slowly enlarges,
Consuming the thoughts that enter your consciousness.
Inspiration kindles the small flame within.
A sudden blaze is provoked,
By a word spoken or a gesture received.

A day passes, two, the flame burns continuously,
Never leaving your mind.
It invades like a thief,
Ready to steal your joy at the slightest upheaval.

The day comes, the moment when that flame grabs a hold of your life,
Its flickering fingers encircle all your hopes and dreams.
Nothing else matters but this one idea.
Without warning, a torrent of doubt washes in.

The thief snatches what you had once held onto so dearly,
And like a flash of lightning — the flame is extinguished.
All hope is lost.
But, what is this? Could it be once again?
A small ember planted inside your mind.

An idea, waiting to be stirred to life.

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We Shall Never Meet Again by Angel Stith

Angel Stith

We Shall Never Meet Again

I remember the day you told me you loved me.
You said my sassiness attracted you,
And that you couldn’t live without me.
I looked right through your past and chose to believe your lies,
Because being with you gave me a sense of high—
A high I’ve never felt before,
Something that I just wanted more and more.
I had a fear that, if I questioned you, I would lose you.
I thought that without you I would be broken,
Like Sleeping Beauty, never to be awoken.
The day I chose to cut ties with you
Is still imprinted in my brain.
My heart was broken in so many ways.
Yes, I was upset; yes, I cried, but in the end, I was able to rise.
I rose past your terror and, for the first time, saw myself in the mirror.
I saw a young girl, who got caught up in a twisted world,
But was back to standing on her own two feet.
If I learned anything at all, my promise is this:
Our last meeting would be our final kiss.

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As I Stand Beside You by Angela Cheshire

Angela Cheshire

As I Stand Beside You

As I stand beside you and weep
I know you will be getting very little sleep
Yesterday you were as small as the birds
But through the years I brought you upwards
Today as you rock your angel to a hush
Your motherly love will awaken in a rush
He will be like a diamond in your eye
And as bright as the sunlight from the sky
Now you and your son will reach for the stars
Just as he will dream of racing cars
Over the years I taught you to fly
But today I stand here and cry

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Anne, the Rest is History by Logan McSherry

Logan McSherry

Anne, the Rest is History

Reconstruction was finally complete, and the Gilded Age began
Anne lost her husband to wasteful war and sought a new man
Some deemed Anne sluttish, but she sure didn’t mind
Indeed, a woman like her was quite hard to find
She found another lover and bedded him well
Anne’s friends proclaimed she’d burn in hell
These words seemed powerful, but Anne couldn’t care less
She was all-oblivious to this preposterous mess
Anne wasn’t worried about her judgment day
For she conceived it was many years away
Anne and Dan played too much and produced a child
Undoubtedly her life was becoming increasingly wild
If Anne left nothing else for posterity, she left her boy
Unfortunately his goal in life was to annoy
The enmity between them became unbelievably strong
Anne started to ponder what she did wrong
She often debated between killing herself or her son
In Anne’s mind nothing else could possibly be done
Alas, Anne decided to take her young son’s life
She planned on ending him with a crude knife
But Anne slipped on the unswept floor of his room
Instantly meeting her most unimaginable doom
Apparently the wood surface was besmeared with grease
Anne’s thin skull split into more than one piece
The boy hated Anne more than she hated him
He believed his future with her was very dim
Some felt Anne got the fate she deserved
In the boy’s opinion, justice was served
Anne’s son’s life was covered in mystery
Making him the neatest person in history
As emperor, he pillaged and conquered hundreds of nations
Yet he is known for epitomizing poor mother-son relations