Hello Friends,
Today’s very recent poem by Charles Rafferty appeared in the Winter 2026 issue of The Southern Review and was shared by my favorite poetry source on Instagram, @poetryisnotaluxury.
Thank you again for celebrating poetry month with me.
— Ællen
Today’s very recent poem by Charles Rafferty appeared in the Winter 2026 issue of The Southern Review and was shared by my favorite poetry source on Instagram, @poetryisnotaluxury.
Thank you again for celebrating poetry month with me.
— Ællen
The Problem with Early Warnings
People don’t like to leave a party
unless the house is actually
on fire. Even then, if the flames
are far enough away
to be pretty, they’ll finish
their drink, take one more pass
at the hors d’oeuvres.
How things happen has always been
unclear. Hurricanes begin
in a place where no one lives.
Agents of the government start
to wear masks. Fascism is
a word my neighbors won’t use
yet. They are following
the law, they say, and the sirens
are coming for someone else.
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