Janet Thorning's work has been published in numerous literary magazines both online and in print. Recent
publications include The Fevered Spring Anthology and Ink, Sweat & Tears. Upcoming publications include The
League of Laboring Poets, The Frequent & Vigorous Quarterly, and ocean diamond. She is currently working on
her first novel.
publications include The Fevered Spring Anthology and Ink, Sweat & Tears. Upcoming publications include The
League of Laboring Poets, The Frequent & Vigorous Quarterly, and ocean diamond. She is currently working on
her first novel.
Fleshwell
And there among the daisies,
the fleshwell is gathering
rainbows silently,
as if every life is broken off from the winds of change
that have not changed in a million years.
The wrinkling of skin is a book with many pages,
some yellowed; some torn to shreds,
but the breaths taken are filled with lessons;
hurricanes, tornadoes; let us not forget earthquakes;
translation, heartbreaks that resist love
until the fleshwell bursts open,
and the heart breaks into song again;
so beautiful, so beautiful
it stops birds in flight
that have never heard anything
so precious as life.
And there among the daisies,
the fleshwell is gathering
rainbows silently,
as if every life is broken off from the winds of change
that have not changed in a million years.
The wrinkling of skin is a book with many pages,
some yellowed; some torn to shreds,
but the breaths taken are filled with lessons;
hurricanes, tornadoes; let us not forget earthquakes;
translation, heartbreaks that resist love
until the fleshwell bursts open,
and the heart breaks into song again;
so beautiful, so beautiful
it stops birds in flight
that have never heard anything
so precious as life.
Janet Thorning
