Submissions Open!

Welcome writers and poets! Submissions for our Summer 2019 issue of Sappho’s Garden are now open. If you’d like to submit a work for inclusion in the journal, please review our guidelines. Submissions will be accepted through April 30.

This issue’s theme is “Roots,” so all submitted works should explore what roots means to you.

In the meantime, we’ll be posting updates on our website and across our social media platforms, so be sure to follow us!

 

            

Poem of the Day: “Hummingbirds” by Mary Oliver

“Hummingbirds”

The female, and two chicks,

each no bigger than my thumb,

scattered,

shimmering

in their pale-green dresses;

then they rose, tiny fireworks,

into the leaves

and hovered;

then they sat down,

each one with dainty, charcoal feet –

each one on a slender branch –

and looked at me.

I had meant no harm,

I had simply

climbed the tree

for something to do

on a summer day,

not knowing they were there,

ready to burst the ledges

of their mossy nest

and to fly, for the first time,

in their sea-green helmets,

with brisk, metallic tails –

each tulled wing,

with every dollop of flight,

drawing a perfect wheel

across the air.

Then, with a series of jerks,

they paused in front of me

and, dark-eyed, stared –

as though I were a flower –

and then,

like three tosses of silvery water,

they were gone.

Alone,

in the crown of the tree,

I went to China,

I went to Prague;

I died, and was born in the spring;

I found you, and loved you, again.

Later the darkness fell

and the solid moon

like a white pond rose.

But I wasn’t in any hurry.

Likely I visted all

the shimmering, heart-stabbing

questions without answers

before I climbed down.

White Pine (1994)

© Rachel Giese Brown

 

Welcome to Sappho’s Garden

Join us as we explore the poetry and prose of featured artists in our inaugural issue.

This site is currently under maintenance still, so be sure to check back for exciting updates!