Susurrus, A Literary Arts Magazine of the American South

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Susurrus, A Literary Arts Magazine of the American South

A Literary Arts Magazine of the American South

09/24/2025

"My wife learned
the term for what she had—festination—
sounded joyous, hardly a symptom of Parkinson’s."

"Late" by Mark Blaeuer

Lateby Mark Blaeuer One week after elections,when the populace spoke (or at least grunted),cold rain.My wife learnedthe term for what she had—festination—sounded joyous, hardly a symptom of Parkinson’s.That night, I walked out to our mailbox,neighbor dogs in voiceagain.Stars and planets ...

09/23/2025

"What I notice
is my hibiscus
wilting. The blossoms—
flat, peach
as her palm..."

"My Friend is Dying" by Christa Fairbrother

My Friend is Dyingby Christa Fairbrother What I noticeis my hibiscuswilting. The blossoms—flat, peachas her palm,as a hullof a house.A slipof a thingneeding water. Christa Fairbrother, MA, has had poetry in Arc, Epiphany, Pleiades, and Salamander, among others. Currently, she’s Gulfport, F.....

09/19/2025

"that after your ten hour shifts at the warehouse
I'm given back a father, emptied
like my hands when you reach out and say:
my son my son, here is America.
& over there is the hoop."

"Dreams" by Azul

Dreamsby Azul mowing the lawn, you're American now that God has spared you from the sea.a father in motion is uncertain physics the way his knuckles lick their gloaming brinethe way I used to during basketball practice when you used to believe I was your only son.that I pierced through your wo...

09/17/2025

"Afterward on our porch with coffee, we find the fields across the way—
suddenly cleared of cattle, a vacancy in the air, save the lonely mourning
dove’s coo. How devoted she remains to that single tune in her repertoire,
perfected and kenned by her ancestors long ago."

"Between" by Sean Sexton

Betweenby Sean Sexton Cattle to be moved, my brother-in-law has just driven through the yard (his Great Dane on the buggy riding shotgun) at the same moment I move you in this dim light (first, out of your red dress), then in redress of pain and harm perhaps from medications intended to save ...

09/15/2025

"as we walk past neat green lawns. Bless you, I say,
clearly, with emphasis. This speaking to creatures

who do not respond is an echo of something earned,
of time spent teaching."

"I Bless the Dog When He Sneezes" by Lisa Zerkle

I Bless the Dog When He Sneezesby Lisa Zerkle as we walk past neat green lawns. Bless you, I say, clearly, with emphasis. This speaking to creatures who do not respond is an echo of something earned, of time spent teaching. It’s awkward this business of language acquisition. When you were in yo...

09/12/2025

"I am looking for a
bird, he said. He reached for my mouth to
pull back my lip and considered my teeth—
then slept."

"Owl Splinters" by Tyler Jagt

Owl Splintersby Tyler Jagt Although deep within sleep he openedhis eyes, sat upright in bed and gazed aroundthe room before biting into his hand sobrutally the gash showed up for months after.I know this, I was there; lying next to him Iwatched the cords of muscle tightened in hisshoulder when...

09/10/2025

"An accidental thing—a delicate, bright
spot amidst a heap of carcass shells.
It is so pretty, I think, to be across
the finish line of that depravity."

"What Happens All the Time" by Marianna Gibson

What Happens All the Timeby Marianna Gibson It came at summer’s tail end: a sunflowersprouted beneath the birdfeeder.An accidental thing—a delicate, brightspot amidst a heap of carcass shells.It is so pretty, I think, to be acrossthe finish line of that depravity.A man’s hand is just a m...

09/09/2025

"It reminds me of the optical illusion
where, as you stare at it, the drawing keeps shifting

between a be-hatted young lady with an elegant jawline
turning her face away, and an old woman with hook nose

casting her gaze down. How can you choose just one?"

"Black Bird" by Anne Myles

Black Birdby Anne Myles My old dog alerts at something across the grassfrom the path we’re walking on—the bobbing headof a large black bird, pecking at something fallen.I urge her forward, but she keeps turning back to see—ears up, muscles tensed, prey-driven in a waythat feels unlike he...

09/05/2025

"bless our stupid, human hearts
believing that adam somehow
merited the power to name every animal..."

"psalm from a gulf coast garden" by Elisheva Fox

psalm from a gulf coast gardenby Elisheva Fox bless our stupid, human heartsbelieving that adam somehowmerited the power to name every animal,believing that we aresuperior somehow,when the proof of our smallness sings,pride on swooping power lines —mockingbirds making war with music,and then...

09/03/2025

"the chosen one danced loose helixes in a
flowy, sheer Swiss muslin cherry-blossom-colored caftan on a mostly
dark stage lit only by the glowing voices of those that sang psalms."

"Almost Now" by Patrick Holian

Almost Nowby Patrick Holian milked the sea for its blood, it came out the color and consistency of college football and chaw. the last time was in the old growth forest, she had just married the exercise in futility, he drove an Aston Martin, ate steak with his hands. the spirits arrived in...

08/29/2025

"You can’t eat the scuppernong skin.
Spit it out onto the earth. Enjoy this sweet
reminder that what splits open often hides

the fruit, even if the outside will choke you."

"After a Reading at Tift County Library" by Jeff Newberry

After a Poetry Reading at Tift County Libraryby Jeff Newberry The old man who gives me a bottleof scuppernong wine promisesit tastes like the freshest dandelion milkdrawn from the spring’s first growth.It looks dark, not Homer’s wine dark,but the dark of the bay’s brackish churnin the ho.....

08/27/2025

"All my talent is in waiting for small eggs to hatch—
a treasure I cannot touch.
The babies are so translucent you can see their dreams.
Shell-memory; soft belly full of worm.
What's unraveling is my ambition for more."

- "Ars Poetica" by Megan Nichols

Ars Poeticaby Megan Nichols I trim my hair in the garden, remember the school teacher who said every sentence cannot begin with I. I seemed selfish then. I felt embarrassed to be known. I was all I really cared about. If you stand still long enough, a bluebird will separate your hair from the...

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