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by Katie Daley
Even though we circle the days
slick & nocturnal
and survey the underworld
with eyes closed
we inhabit ponderable Earth
alongside you
It’s true, we’ve been endowed with
paddle-shaped tails
to slap like gunshots on river skin
webbed hind feet for superb swimming
& endlessly growing incisors
to fell Earth’s trees & devise our shelters
But because our excellent pelts
keep their shapes & colors in the rain
we once appeared to colonists
as excellent hats
Our deaths became
for a time
all the rage
Despite our clever underwater entrances
& keen teeth
we brinked extinction
as did, in our wake, our neighbors:
trout, Ottawa, wetlands
the whole before
unperturbed
swath of Turtle Island
But like clouds, fashion doesn’t tarry
only shapeshifts onward:
beaver to worm, pelt to silk
So listen
Now, beneath the scud
this swirl on river skin may speak
to you, may suggest
we burrow further than ever
into the deep, may warn
we still chew, slap, swill
& dream away our predators:
otter, cougar, mad hatters, humans
this story most of all
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Eastern ForktailLindsay Barba
CoyoteStephanie Ginese
Common MilkweedDelilah McCrea
Showy OrchisBill Newby
American Witch-hazelQuartez Harris
Common CarpDavid Hassler
Common PawpawIsaiah Back-Gaal
Common Garter SnakeCait Young
MayappleRebecca Wohlever
Common DewberryPeter McWilliams
North American River OtterAnastasios Mihalopoulos
Winter FireflyIsaiah Hunt
Giant Leopard MothAlex Saba
Virginia BluebellsBronlynn Thurman
American RobinKari Gunter-Seymour
American CrowJason Harris
Eastern CottontailEros Livieratos
Bald-faced HornetKJ Ceranowski
Poverty OatgrassHaylee Schwenk
Song SparrowVirginia Konchan
Wood DuckDiana Lueptow
Japanese HoneysuckleShei Sanchez
Yellow BullheadTed Lardner
Funeral BellTishon Woolcock
Common DandelionCora Liderbach
WarmouthCamille Ferguson
Splendid Earth-Boring BeetleKortney Morrow
Snapping TurtleJessica Jewell
SassafrasAndrea Imdacha
Poison IvyMarina Vladova
Pharaoh CicadaCathy Barber
Northern Dusky SlugRay McNiece
JewelweedJudith Mansour
DamselfliesKen Tomaro
BloodrootChad Lutz
KilldeerMary Biddinger
Big Brown BatSujata Lakhe
Barred OwlCourtney Noster
Long-eared OwlMichael Loderstedt
Isabella Tiger MothLeah Graham
American SycamoreMegan Lubey
Water Forget-Me-NotAlyssa Perry
Yellow-dusted Cream MothCass Penegor
Painted-cup PaintbrushHilary Plum
Masked BeesZach Savich
TrilliumKimberlee Medicine Horn Jackson
Eastern Tiger SwallowtailKira Preneta
CrayfishConor Bracken
Great Blue HeronDan Dorman
American SweetgumCaryl Pagel
Painted TurtleRebekah Ainsworth
Green DarnerMarion Boyer
American BeaverKatie Daley
Eastern Screech-OwlDr. R. Ray Gehani
Spring PeeperBarbara Sabol
Eastern Carpenter BeeSylvia Clark
Jacob's LadderRisha Nicole
Candleflame LichenClara Britton
Eastern NewtElizabeth Ryan
American BullfrogLaura Grace Weldon
American ChestnutCarrie George
American GoldfinchMarybeth Cieplinski
American Giant MillipedeMary Quade
American HornbeamJeff Gundy
American White WaterlilyGeoffry Polk
Artist’s BracketSusann Moeller
Banded Fishing SpiderCharlie Malone
BluegillOlivia Farina
Common Star-of-BethlehemBrita Alaburda
Common StonefliesKaren Schubert
Eastern ChipmunkNathan Kemp
Eastern Tent Caterpillar MothZachary Thomas
Eastern Red-backed SalamanderTovli Simiryan
Firefly BeetleJacquie Peoples Dukes
Gray CatbirdTheresa Brightman
Great MulleinLaurie Kincer
Green HeronPaula J. Lambert
HepaticaAmanda Schuster
Interrupted FernKathleen Cerveny
Jack-in-the-PulpitMichael Buebe
Meadow VoleRoberta Jupin
Monarch ButterflyDeborah Fleming
MuskratCatherine Wing
Pearl CrescentMonica Kaiser
Poison HemlockJon Conley
Red-Headed Ground BeetleBob King
Star JelliesCameron Gorman
Sugar MapleSteve Brightman
Turkey VultureAndrew Gilkey
White-footed MouseMichelle Bissell
White-tailed DeerBenjamin Rhodes
Wild CarrotJessica Jones
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Traveling Stanzas community arts projects bring poetry to people’s everyday lives through innovative methods and digital platforms.