As It Ought To Be Magazine

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As It Ought To Be Magazine As It Ought To Be is an online literary magazine featuring poetry, literary reviews, and interviews from seasoned writers and emerging voices.

In honor of the passing of one of America's greatest artists and literacy advocates, a poem from 2019 by Stephen Roger P...
25/08/2026

In honor of the passing of one of America's greatest artists and literacy advocates, a poem from 2019 by Stephen Roger Powers

  Dolly Floats 2012 Pigeon Forge raised Dolly up on eagle’s wings, and she flew on those wings of an eagle while the eagle stared down its nest at the front of the float and foll…

It’s been bred in labsto grow like an office ruginstead of a w**dNew poetry from Ken Moon on AIOTB!
23/08/2026

It’s been bred in labs
to grow like an office rug
instead of a w**d

New poetry from Ken Moon on AIOTB!

Baseball GrassIt’s not natural pasture grassIt’s been bred in labsto grow like an office ruginstead of a w**ddeep rootedheavily wateredintensely groomedIf left neglectedfor months, decades,unsightl…

tomcats walk, tails upon gutterlines. seagulls underlitin the diffusing upward shineNew poetry by DS Maolailai on AIOTB!
23/08/2026

tomcats walk, tails up
on gutterlines. seagulls underlit
in the diffusing upward shine

New poetry by DS Maolailai on AIOTB!

Upstairs bedroomsat night, a city full of upstairssecond storey subdivided bedrooms:above shops, above cafesand restaurants. laundry slungon curtainrails. men in grubby t-shirtsashing rolled-up cig…

"The fallen limbs of the pineimpede the predator’s path."New poetry by Geoffrey Heptonstall on AIOTB!
15/08/2026

"The fallen limbs of the pine
impede the predator’s path."

New poetry by Geoffrey Heptonstall on AIOTB!

A CLOSE WATCH OF THE CATSo often as still as a stone,but stirred by something it sees.For now there is nowhere to hidefrom the screech of fury or fearin a creature’s restless rhythms,a confession o…

In the radiation clinic, white tissue covering the patient’s chair,I sit in the one for family. I’ve been through this b...
12/08/2026

In the radiation clinic, white tissue covering the patient’s chair,
I sit in the one for family. I’ve been through this before.

New poetry by Celeste Budwit-Hunter on AIOTB!

There’s a PlanFor now, there’s a plan and it’s spring again. You’re not dying,the oncologist says on the phone. Outside, the Carolina wrenhas returned to the back porch, scouting for a nest. Not fr…

She spends all daywatching a barren twigpulsate in the winter breezeNew poetry by James Benger on AIOTB!
09/08/2026

She spends all day
watching a barren twig
pulsate in the winter breeze

New poetry by James Benger on AIOTB!

FocusShe spends all daywatching a barren twigpulsate in the winter breeze,everything dry,everything waiting.She figures she can wait too,because there’s something else,there has to be something els…

"a gulf of inky sky lingering like the bitterness of this morning’s quarrel."New poetry by KB Ballentine on AIOTB!
05/08/2026

"a gulf of inky sky lingering
like the bitterness of this morning’s quarrel."

New poetry by KB Ballentine on AIOTB!

Shatter the BlueSwallows scratch the dusk sketching longer, deeper shades of night –a gulf of inky sky lingering like the bitterness of this morning’s quarrel.A stone where lotus might have bloomed…

Check out our July 2026 Poetry Edition, featuring new work by KB Ballentine, James Benger, Celeste Budwit-Hunter, Geoffr...
28/07/2026

Check out our July 2026 Poetry Edition, featuring new work by
KB Ballentine, James Benger, Celeste Budwit-Hunter, Geoffrey Heptonstall, DS Maolalai, Ken Moon, Samuel Prestridge, and Cheryl Snell.

KB Ballentine: “Shatter the Blue” James Benger: “Focus” Celeste Budwit-Hunter: “There’s a Plan” Geoffrey Heptonstall: “A Close Watch of the Cat” DS Maolalai: “Upstairs bedrooms” Ken Moon: “Ba…

New poetry from Sterling Warner on AIOTB!
27/07/2026

New poetry from Sterling Warner on AIOTB!

Low Bar PrioritiesExcitement’s an anathemato my current living styleten years ago I’d w**d-wackan acre of Spanish broom, cordgrass,and Himalayan Blackberriesall in in single morning…top treesand ch…

A new ekphrastic poem by Agnes Vojta!
26/07/2026

A new ekphrastic poem by Agnes Vojta!

Twilight After a painting by Monique BelitzIn the twilight, she walks through the orchard,the dog trotting at her heels, past the brush pileand the old pond that no longer holds water.She shuts the…

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