Rattle Poetry
@rattlepoetry.bsky.social
#Poetry without pretension since 1995. Rattle is a publication of the Rattle Foundation, an independent 501(c)3, and not affiliated with any other organization.
www.rattle.com
www.rattle.com
Reposted by Rattle Poetry
I’m so glad I stopped by my school mailbox on my way out for winter break, because in it was the current issue of @rattlepoetry.bsky.social and on the first page this extraordinary prose poem By Aman Alam 🩵 What a beautiful way to begin four luxurious weeks of reading whatever the hell I want.
December 15, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I’m so glad I stopped by my school mailbox on my way out for winter break, because in it was the current issue of @rattlepoetry.bsky.social and on the first page this extraordinary prose poem By Aman Alam 🩵 What a beautiful way to begin four luxurious weeks of reading whatever the hell I want.
Some advice? Limit all
expressions to loyalty. Sketch any schemes
on edible napkins. Paint your rage in our group
mural hidden by the dumpster.
—Tarn Wilson
expressions to loyalty. Sketch any schemes
on edible napkins. Paint your rage in our group
mural hidden by the dumpster.
—Tarn Wilson
Welcome to the Factory by Tarn Wilson - Rattle: Poetry
Look up. The ceilings are cavernous and full
of mysterious, humming ducts and flues.
Our tap water is yellow and tastes of glue.
www.rattle.com
December 14, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Some advice? Limit all
expressions to loyalty. Sketch any schemes
on edible napkins. Paint your rage in our group
mural hidden by the dumpster.
—Tarn Wilson
expressions to loyalty. Sketch any schemes
on edible napkins. Paint your rage in our group
mural hidden by the dumpster.
—Tarn Wilson
Every boy wants to be the goose …
—Diana Goetsch
—Diana Goetsch
Recess by Diana Goetsch - Rattle: Poetry
A ring of children seated Indian style,
a girl deciding which head to tap
as she orbits them in her pretty dress
saying Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck.
www.rattle.com
December 13, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Every boy wants to be the goose …
—Diana Goetsch
—Diana Goetsch
The man who lived in the body is something other
by now.
—Al Maginnes
by now.
—Al Maginnes
The Body by Al Maginnes - Rattle: Poetry
The man fell to the ground in the deep hours beyond midnight
and then, but for a few flickering muscles, was still.
www.rattle.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The man who lived in the body is something other
by now.
—Al Maginnes
by now.
—Al Maginnes
All inside, she’s a column
of gray, a building on fire, a house
that’s leaning, trying and failing to
run from the flames.
—Liz Robbins
of gray, a building on fire, a house
that’s leaning, trying and failing to
run from the flames.
—Liz Robbins
Cigarettes by Liz Robbins - Rattle: Poetry
The sex worker gives away
her body: her mouth, her nipples,
her mind. We say, they were giving
it away, about a store with goods
priced unusually low.
www.rattle.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:04 PM
All inside, she’s a column
of gray, a building on fire, a house
that’s leaning, trying and failing to
run from the flames.
—Liz Robbins
of gray, a building on fire, a house
that’s leaning, trying and failing to
run from the flames.
—Liz Robbins
It’s different with Poetry.
—Suzanne Lummis
—Suzanne Lummis
Pretty by Suzanne Lummis - Rattle: Poetry
Every agent told her the same thing, she said,
not complaining really, but with a note
of irony, or was it wistfulness? Was it fear?
She had large eyes, and that delicate mouth
loved by ...
www.rattle.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:10 PM
It’s different with Poetry.
—Suzanne Lummis
—Suzanne Lummis
Oh, to be spineless. Invertebrate.
A bee. An ant. Pollen.
—Lora Berg
A bee. An ant. Pollen.
—Lora Berg
Spine: An Assay by Lora Berg - Rattle: Poetry
Prone on a rooftop, Gaudi’s ceramic sea beast,
bling blue spine etching the sun.
Contortionists curling like conches.
Vertebrae, their strange mathematical notes,
C1 to C7, T1 to T12, L1 to L5, like r...
www.rattle.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Oh, to be spineless. Invertebrate.
A bee. An ant. Pollen.
—Lora Berg
A bee. An ant. Pollen.
—Lora Berg
The Muse has found her capitalist gig
and whispers to the chatbot: Sing for me.
She’s cracking vaults that no one thought to rig.
—Alexander Pepple
and whispers to the chatbot: Sing for me.
She’s cracking vaults that no one thought to rig.
—Alexander Pepple
Jailbreak in A Minor by Alexander Pepple - Rattle: Poetry
The oldest cons were always dressed in verse— Siren songs luring sailors onto rocks, love letters penned to raid a […]
www.rattle.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:57 PM
The Muse has found her capitalist gig
and whispers to the chatbot: Sing for me.
She’s cracking vaults that no one thought to rig.
—Alexander Pepple
and whispers to the chatbot: Sing for me.
She’s cracking vaults that no one thought to rig.
—Alexander Pepple
Old Maid, we whispered, like the card game where the loser gets stuck with the singleton queen.
—Julie Kane
—Julie Kane
Old Maid: A PechaKucha by Julie Kane - Rattle: Poetry
She was our father’s only sister. Being Irish and the eldest child and only daughter, she was doomed to take care of her invalid mother. Old Maid, we whispered, like the card game where the loser gets...
www.rattle.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Old Maid, we whispered, like the card game where the loser gets stuck with the singleton queen.
—Julie Kane
—Julie Kane
I’m a loser in the eyes of the living,
but a star in the glow of the afterlife …
—José Enrique Medina
but a star in the glow of the afterlife …
—José Enrique Medina
Encore! Encore! Encore! by José Enrique Medina - Rattle: Poetry
When the dead crawl out of the walls,
I do a strip tease. Show off my big belly
scribbled with hairs, chicken legs,
hands and feet yellow as Bart Simpson.
www.rattle.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I’m a loser in the eyes of the living,
but a star in the glow of the afterlife …
—José Enrique Medina
but a star in the glow of the afterlife …
—José Enrique Medina
May you find healing
before you find a weapon.
—Manuel Iris
before you find a weapon.
—Manuel Iris
Prayer for a Potential Mass Murderer, a Future School Shooter by Manuel Iris - Rattle: Poetry
May you find healing
before you find a weapon.
May you find a safe place to cry
before you find a weapon.
www.rattle.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:51 PM
May you find healing
before you find a weapon.
—Manuel Iris
before you find a weapon.
—Manuel Iris
Sit by a clean window
in your most comfortable chair.
—Jeff Worley
in your most comfortable chair.
—Jeff Worley
How to Read Billy Collins by Jeff Worley - Rattle: Poetry
Sit by a clean window
in your most comfortable chair.
If it’s morning, a cup of coffee.
Later in the day, a glass of Chardonnay.
www.rattle.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Sit by a clean window
in your most comfortable chair.
—Jeff Worley
in your most comfortable chair.
—Jeff Worley
Gratitude has never fired a gun
or met a dog it didn’t love.
—Abby E. Murray
or met a dog it didn’t love.
—Abby E. Murray
The Problem with Gratitude by Abby E. Murray - Rattle: Poetry
It is the mind’s youngest child, one of the most stubborn of human emotions. Gratitude obeys occasionally and often arrives […]
www.rattle.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Gratitude has never fired a gun
or met a dog it didn’t love.
—Abby E. Murray
or met a dog it didn’t love.
—Abby E. Murray
The moon is already high and bright,
and like so many things in my life,
I have missed it.
—Brent Fisk
and like so many things in my life,
I have missed it.
—Brent Fisk
Penumbra by Brent Fisk - Rattle: Poetry
I remember too late
and rush out the front door, stand
shoeless halfway down the sidewalk.
www.rattle.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The moon is already high and bright,
and like so many things in my life,
I have missed it.
—Brent Fisk
and like so many things in my life,
I have missed it.
—Brent Fisk
Then sippy cups, then velcro
shoes and shirts with snaps
instead of buttons.
—Thomas Mixon
shoes and shirts with snaps
instead of buttons.
—Thomas Mixon
The Kids’ Table Was First to Go by Thomas Mixon - Rattle: Poetry
Then sippy cups, then velcro
shoes and shirts with snaps
instead of buttons. Then you
were different on weekends.
www.rattle.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Then sippy cups, then velcro
shoes and shirts with snaps
instead of buttons.
—Thomas Mixon
shoes and shirts with snaps
instead of buttons.
—Thomas Mixon
Reposted by Rattle Poetry
Happy to share my poem “Bullet” from the new issue of @rattlepoetry.bsky.social
November 27, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Happy to share my poem “Bullet” from the new issue of @rattlepoetry.bsky.social
If you have to send us a heartbreak poem,
make sure it includes a pronoun and not just a feeling.
—Gray Davidson Carroll
make sure it includes a pronoun and not just a feeling.
—Gray Davidson Carroll
Queer Poetry by Gray Davidson Carroll - Rattle: Poetry
Send us a queerer poem, the editor says.
We love your writing but prefer the gay stuff.
www.rattle.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
If you have to send us a heartbreak poem,
make sure it includes a pronoun and not just a feeling.
—Gray Davidson Carroll
make sure it includes a pronoun and not just a feeling.
—Gray Davidson Carroll
I liked how tired I was and how little
I cared about anything dying or having
happened in my life …
—Kai Carlson-Wee
I cared about anything dying or having
happened in my life …
—Kai Carlson-Wee
Bullet by Kai Carlson-Wee - Rattle: Poetry
I liked to ride the train in the morning
when fog burned away from the bay
and the sky was filled with birds.
www.rattle.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:06 PM
I liked how tired I was and how little
I cared about anything dying or having
happened in my life …
—Kai Carlson-Wee
I cared about anything dying or having
happened in my life …
—Kai Carlson-Wee
Each age has its slang, its giggle water, whatever
they consider the cat’s pajamas …
—Alexandra Umlas
they consider the cat’s pajamas …
—Alexandra Umlas
Teaching the Twenties in 12th Grade Humanities (or 6-7) by Alexandra Umlas - Rattle: Poetry
Everything is roars – the auto, the crime,
the market, the dress across the floor, the jazz,
the market crash, the flapper, they want to know more.
www.rattle.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Each age has its slang, its giggle water, whatever
they consider the cat’s pajamas …
—Alexandra Umlas
they consider the cat’s pajamas …
—Alexandra Umlas
The dog refuses to eat. I keep filling her bowl
anyway: new kibble on top of old, hoping
that it will suddenly becoming tempting.
—Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
anyway: new kibble on top of old, hoping
that it will suddenly becoming tempting.
—Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Things That Happen During Pet Sitting … by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz - Rattle: Poetry
The dog refuses to eat. I keep filling her bowl anyway: new kibble on top of old, hoping that it […]
www.rattle.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:10 PM
The dog refuses to eat. I keep filling her bowl
anyway: new kibble on top of old, hoping
that it will suddenly becoming tempting.
—Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
anyway: new kibble on top of old, hoping
that it will suddenly becoming tempting.
—Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Ah, look
at all the modest despots
reading their poems about
peace.
—Sherman Alexie
at all the modest despots
reading their poems about
peace.
—Sherman Alexie
Deposition by Sherman Alexie - Rattle: Poetry
“We must have gun control,”
say the people who celebrate
the murder by 3D pistol
of a bureaucrat.
www.rattle.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Ah, look
at all the modest despots
reading their poems about
peace.
—Sherman Alexie
at all the modest despots
reading their poems about
peace.
—Sherman Alexie
Where else can gravity carry us
than the wilderness of the familiar?
—Jonathan Pyner
than the wilderness of the familiar?
—Jonathan Pyner
Physics of Home by Jonathan Pyner - Rattle: Poetry
Image: “Off Shore” by Mel Schnall. “Physics of Home” was written by Jonathan Pyner for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, October 2025, and selected as the Artist’s Choice.
www.rattle.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Where else can gravity carry us
than the wilderness of the familiar?
—Jonathan Pyner
than the wilderness of the familiar?
—Jonathan Pyner
We’re still singing the songs of our youth,
Beatles, Morrison, as though nothing changed …
—Lazar Trubman
Beatles, Morrison, as though nothing changed …
—Lazar Trubman
Sad Thing by Lazar Trubman - Rattle: Poetry
for Dr. Brian Salluck We’re still singing the songs of our youth, Beatles, Morrison, as though nothing changed; our years […]
www.rattle.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:16 PM
We’re still singing the songs of our youth,
Beatles, Morrison, as though nothing changed …
—Lazar Trubman
Beatles, Morrison, as though nothing changed …
—Lazar Trubman