the story so far

poetry by daniel hurst

  • drown in it

    Footsteps always echo loudest on a stage, facing a full and quiet crowd. Harrison always said eat a banana, run up the stairs; one to calm, one to rile the heart. The anxious organ can’t seem to tell between a workout and the icy choir of each step, smooth neck of the cello in my…

  • charm necklace

    charm necklace: single golden eagle first discovered at age six my father wore them religiously. the eagle his loyal oath: one partner one love beholden. cluttered, drawer; chain coiled tight; charms clump: crosses, bikes – his interests, passions all clamor gently) one day: empty drawer. golden eagle alone on lifeless chain. charms lost. house sold.…

  • Migration of Butterflies

    I have heard when butterflies migrate, it is their children, several generations later, endowed with the great train of memories of those that came before, who died learned, added their own thread, weaving a continuous pattern, impossibly complex – each unaware of the destination, but keen on the route – an instinctual purpose passed down…

  • Current

    love, deferred; stone, dropped from a bridge at night. splash, heard ripples lost in the dark.

  • safe

    the closest I’ve come: summer, 2003 the pavement blurred at the top the kind you could see with your cheek to the hot black. me: shorts, an old shirt I’ve long forgot, standing at home base (a mailbox). the street: narrow, cluttered with kids at the center: one with a kickball ready for the pitch.…

  • Considering a Purchase

    My hand lifts the case of beer, waits: The cans gently clamor, calling – soft melody, sweetwater – My tongue listens, mind enamored By the crisp toll, the promise Of an empty song. Bound to a mast, wreathed In madness, he orders His crew untie him, lost In the music. Sharp teeth await In the…

  • Aubade: Important Record

    This night presses softly against the window, a silence like the slow breath of organs, sleeping in empty churches. The supple kiss of your fingertips plays gently in the dark by memory. What music to be taken into your arms, to rest my head like a needle on your breast, catching a melody like the…

  • Environmentalism

    look at the cat…