New poem: The Sound of Metal (on bullying)

Degenerates: Voices for Peace just released an anthology on bullying. Two of my poems are included.

The Sound of Metal

love your brothers and sisters, momma said
carry us like a song in your heart

in high school, i whispered gossip to mean girls
and, on alternate Tuesdays, tried to not to drown

in labels
and expectations

and a labyrinth of dented lockers
that made hollow sounds

when bodies and metal collided
for the thousandth occasion

at the same high school
at the same time

my brother was molested

we didn’t learn what happened ’til years later
after he stopped coming home…

Read the rest…

The editor of Degenerates, a fellow named Weasel, also reprinted Paper Cheerleaders.

Emailing him “Dear Weasel…” was possibly my favorite part of the publishing process. (My friends all have boring names.) However, Weasel made the whole endeavor delightful. He send proofs to authors–early–and released the issue on time.

Weasel Press is open to submissions.

Author: Anna Kander

Anna Kander is a Pushcart Prize-nominated author in the Midwest. She writes poetry, fiction, and dark fantasy. Her first poetry collection is SLIDE A MIRROR TO ME (Transcendent Zero Press, 2017). View all posts by Anna Kander