Kansas 1935 By Arvilla Fee

the wind blows through the cracks—

cracks in the doors, the floors,

cracks around the window sills;

it wails like an injured animal,

feral, enraged—

looking for a way in, a way out,

and I rock in the rocker

in this tar-paper shack,

stopping only to slug down

a half bottle of whiskey

and curse the drought

which cursed the prairie

which left me with nothing 

but a bowl full of dust

Arvilla Fee teaches English and is the managing editor for the San Antonio Review. She has published poetry, photography, and short stories in numerous presses, including Calliope, North of Oxford, Rat’s Ass Review, Mudlark, and many others. Her poetry books, The Human Side and This is Life, are available on Amazon. For Arvilla, writing produces the greatest joy when it connects us to each other. To learn more about her work, you can visit her website: https://soulpoetry7.com/