Second Place

The Raven

(Erasure from Poe)

I muttered Nothing more.

Bleak December wrought

its ghost vainly

here.

Purple curtains—darkness there.

I stood burning.

Ebony bird

one burden bore:  dirges

of Never swung

by seraphim.

Black plume floating

on the floor.
 

©2015 Taunja Thomson

About the Author Taunja Thomson

My poetry has appeared in The Cincinnati Poets’ Collective, The Cincinnati Poetry Review, The Licking River Review, The Aurorean (2014), Lime Hawk Collective Arts Journal (2015), Really System (2015), Squalorly (2015), and Wild Age Press (2015).  My poem “Seahorse and Moon” was nominated for the Pushcart Award in 2005.  The Cahaba River Journal will feature my work in its 2015 spring and summer editions.  I have a writer’s page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TaunjaThomsonWriter.

I reside in Kentucky with my husband and seven cats, where I practice collage craft, terrarium creation, and water gardening.