Poetry
From Issue III (2018) 
And we’ll be there | SARA MASSIDDA
Mixed media (watercolor, ink, and digital), 8 x 12 in., 2017
Open House
by DAVID LLOYD
What say we give up?
Fling open doors and windows,
leave wide the chimney flue?
Pull down screens,
rip the tongue from the groove,
crowbar shingles from the roof?
Burn fly-swatters. Bury insecticides,
pesticides, and assault weapons
in a steel coffin.
No vacuuming. No sweeping.
No sponging—not even skin.
Let dust roll its ghostly basketballs
across a threadbare floor.
Let stars invade our space.
Downpours on mattresses,
sunlight on sconces.
Welcome the field mouse to the cheese board,
cockroach to the carvery,
bedbug to the duvet,
snake to the wine cellar.
Birds swoop without concussion.
Raccoons scour the stovetop with quick tongues.
And everyone drinks from the toilet.
Give over to the ant’s carpentry,
the wood wasp’s spelunking,
the nesting swallow’s mud-packing,
the orb spider’s corner wizardry—
What say we leave unmolested
that drip hanging from the tip
of the blade of grass?
David Lloyd
David Lloyd is the author of ten books, including three poetry collections: Warriors (Salt Publishing), The Gospel According to Frank (New American Press), and The Everyday Apocalypse (Three Conditions Press). His poems have appeared in Crab Orchard Review, Denver Quarterly, DoubleTake, and Planet. He directs the creative writing program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. SUNY Press published his story collection, The Moving of the Water, in September 2018. His website is davidlloydwriter.com.
Sara Massidda
Sara Massidda is a student of modern literature at the University of Cagliari in Italy. She enjoys drawing with traditional and digital media, and she especially loves watercolor pencils and inks. In her work, she aims to represent her curiosity towards different species of trees, mushrooms, and other life forms. She shares her works online under the name TheUnconfidentArtist.