An Amplified Jar

for Jo lanni

A teeny tiny orison 

plonks into the pond

its little ripples 

working at 

healing outward

Tom Snarsky is the author of Light-Up Swan and Reclaimed Water, both from Ornithopter Press. His book A Letter From The Mountain & Other Poems is forthcoming in 2025 from Animal Heart Press, and his book MOUNTEBANK is forthcoming in 2026 from Broken Sleep Books. He lives in the mountains of northwestern Virginia with his wife Kristi and their cats.

Tree of Life

One day, the sadness will end. 

— Margaret Lanterman

On days when it’s looking up 

life insurance payout restrictions bad, 

think of a little patch of bluebells 

in the shade: it’s dark, yes, 

now, but the sun 

is already beginning 

its morning transit, will shift 

the lattice of shadow 

& light until those flowers, 

too, see their moment of warm attention. 

It will pass, yes, 

that moment. 

Do not mistake this 

or be afraid. The stems’ll shiver bluely again 

in evening, for a brief time, but then the moon will appear, its low glow giving 

everything a dim & constant light

Tom Snarsky is the author of Light-Up Swan and Reclaimed Water, both from Ornithopter Press. His book A Letter From The Mountain & Other Poems is forthcoming in 2025 from Animal Heart Press, and his book MOUNTEBANK is forthcoming in 2026 from Broken Sleep Books. He lives in the mountains of northwestern Virginia with his wife Kristi and their cats.

What lies beneath

There is this childhood memory

that has stayed with me

of a group of friends

chancing upon silver ferns

for the first time

in the forest around our homes,

of examining its’ leaves

with the pleasing green on top

fringed by the unexpected silver

and then all that glorious silver dust below

and a joyous afternoon spent

tattooing our arms and the back of our hands

and our foreheads and cheeks

with that silver dust.

We were obsessed and began to look

at wild plants more closely,

constantly turning leaves

wanting to be surprised.

We had also stumbled on to something else -

that, sometimes,

the real beauty and magic

is in what lies beneath.

Ronita Chattopadhyay (she/her) is an Indian poet who finds refuge in words. Her poems and prose have appeared in numerous online literary magazines in her country and elsewhere. This includes The Hooghly Review, Roi Fainéant Press, Akéwì Magazine, Setu, RIC Journal, Porch Lit Magazine and in online and print anthologies by Querencia Press and Sídhe Press. She also journeys with words in her work while supporting not for profit organisations in India. And she loves books, mountains and tea.