Author Archive - Stone Soup

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SEARCHING FOR BOW AND ARROWS

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Because I wanted to feel like an Amazon I asked my father to build me a bow with arrows. We went to the nearby woods that overlook Forest Beach in the village of South Chatham.
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THE GRADUATES

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

I was ten. I stayed on the Upper West Side, An old hotel with dusty paintings in gilded frames. My father kept telling me not to lose anything And not to be on my smartphone all the time.
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MOPING ALONG MUDDY RIVER

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

On a cold winter morning I have a class At the Museum of Fine Arts. The frosty wind awakens me. I turn to the river and there, Like a still life created overnight: Muddy ice, shaped like dirty br...
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A DOUBLE-HEADED MAN

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Very clever but makes no sense, He says he’s always on the fence, Both a friend and an enemy at war Though standing in the corridor, Quiet and peaceful with hints of love, Both minds have somet...
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THE FOG’S MYSTERIOUS CLEARING

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

The morning dew crept in As the blackbirds began to sing. The sky was covered with fog As the coyote chased the small dog. Soon the mystery was gone And the morning sunrise began.
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THE CAST IRON STAIRCASE

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

In the market town of Yelets in the south of Russia, stands an old high school for women that survived wars and destruction. Everything in the building has been restored, except the cast iron s...
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TRAIN TRACKS AT SOBIBÓR

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

On a spring morning we arrived from Lublin to witness what was left of the death camp; a rusty peeling sign came into view it screamed: “Sobibór.” The Nazis destroyed evidence of the gas ch...
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TRUST

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Trust is like leaving a dog alone and knowing it won’t knock over your pawn on the forgotten chessboard. Trust is believing love won’t last but knowing that hope will go on always reborn.
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THE EMPTY COP

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Once a cop, now he mows grass. He was once fearless and brave, now he fishes off the bridge and sells oysters to local bars. Not his shiny patrol car but his wife’s old sedan, not a sheriff�...
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THE GIFT OF A BOOK

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Books are alluring, their words flow across the printed page, coming alive with rage, with melody, wisdom, sadness. Pushkin, Frost, Steinbeck . . .
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SNOW IN THE DISTANCE

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

I walk down the grey path And I see the snowflakes coming down, Light as the sun, dark as the moon. I see a man shoot a deer, I see a girl streaked in tears, And I wonder why the snow Is so peac...
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VIÑA DEL MAR

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Today I went to the beach and swam in the stormy Pacific. I touched dead jellyfish on the sand, then took a bus to the hotel. Out the window I saw rusty cars, tired people in corner stores, ...
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LAST NIGHT OF THE WORLD

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Last night of the world, New Year’s Eve in the mountains of Pucón. A local girl and a local boy slaughtering a lamb the tourists will eat for New Year’s supper as the volcano erupts with ...
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SANTIAGO

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Santiago in the afternoon, the Andes built with rocks and moon, o I wonder if I glide I’m coming home soon.
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MY GRANDFATHER’S RUSSIAN TYPEWRITER

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

He wrote novels and poems On that old, grey pony. But now it sits in our shoe closet Next to a pair of old rain boots. One afternoon I find it on the kitchen table Released from its case, Button...
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WALKS TO THE THREE WATERS

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Running with Stella the silver poodle who hunts rabbits and chews on clams. Taking in the salt and letting it go while the sea breeze refuses to slow.
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WHEN LIFE GOES DOWNHILL

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

When life goes downhill you start to drift. When the clouds push you run down the slope. When rain lashes you seek cover in a dark cave with a shimmering light.
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THE OLD TENNIS RACQUETS ON THE WALL

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

My relatives once played with these old tennis racquets. Their souls bounce on the strings like scraps of forgotten music while their hands grip new handles on a star-paved tennis court.
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MY SICILIAN TRUMPET TEACHER

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Each time he comes to our house To give me a trumpet lesson, He arrives in a large SUV And tells us his family Hasn’t visited in ages. He drinks an espresso, Spreads pages of music On the s...
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MEMORIES CAUGHT IN SEAWEED

Poem Published June 25, 2020 by Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer

Wet feet on the sand Touching the seaweed. Memories dissolve in the tide, People toss wet seaweed, as if it’s a joke To lose one’s memories. Yet when the seaweed dries in the sand, It fo...
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