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
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
But this wasn’t a kingdom.
It was a four-bedroom house in Albuquerque …
—John Paul O'Connor
It was a four-bedroom house in Albuquerque …
—John Paul O'Connor
Beans by John Paul O'Connor - Rattle: Poetry
The way my father told the story, it wasn’t Jack who climbed
the Beanstalk. It was my sister and I.
www.rattle.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:01 PM
But this wasn’t a kingdom.
It was a four-bedroom house in Albuquerque …
—John Paul O'Connor
It was a four-bedroom house in Albuquerque …
—John Paul O'Connor
Tonight's guest on the Rattlecast is Julia Kolchinsky! A frequent Rattle contributor, Julia's most recent book, Parallax, is a lyrical narrative of parenting a neurodiverse child. Join us live at 8pm ET!
Julia Kolchinsky| Rattlecast 318
YouTube video by Rattle Poetry
youtube.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Tonight's guest on the Rattlecast is Julia Kolchinsky! A frequent Rattle contributor, Julia's most recent book, Parallax, is a lyrical narrative of parenting a neurodiverse child. Join us live at 8pm ET!
The couple across the street did not speak to me.
They thought I drove too fast.
—Lisa Seidenberg
They thought I drove too fast.
—Lisa Seidenberg
Neighbors by Lisa Seidenberg - Rattle: Poetry
The couple across the street did not speak to me.
They thought I drove too fast.
The once-famous writer took walks in his boxer shorts.
www.rattle.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
The couple across the street did not speak to me.
They thought I drove too fast.
—Lisa Seidenberg
They thought I drove too fast.
—Lisa Seidenberg
Have you ever realized how easy it is
to not know something?
—Cam McGlynn
to not know something?
—Cam McGlynn
ITS BC THEY HAVE BEEN POKING HOLES IN THE SUN…WAKE UP PEOPLE by Cam McGlynn - Rattle: Poetry
My favorite boss liked to remind me
that we don’t know what we don’t know.
Sure, there are some things that we know
we don’t know, like the best treatment for pancreatic cancer,
how ...
www.rattle.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Have you ever realized how easy it is
to not know something?
—Cam McGlynn
to not know something?
—Cam McGlynn
Of what we offer, life takes what it wants
and goes.
—Robert Rice
and goes.
—Robert Rice
Saudade by Robert Rice - Rattle: Poetry
A thousand years ago a song was sung near a campfire at night by a singer who was alone, exiled […]
www.rattle.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Of what we offer, life takes what it wants
and goes.
—Robert Rice
and goes.
—Robert Rice
I say, I’m hungover, but mean,
Burrrp, who poured this grief so strong?
—José Enrique Medina
Burrrp, who poured this grief so strong?
—José Enrique Medina
My Mother’s Buried in the Largest Cemetery in North America by José Enrique Medina - Rattle: Poetry
Where did I leave her grave?
Dazed, I lean against a tree
to steady the sway. I don’t drink,
but I feel drunk with goodbye.
www.rattle.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I say, I’m hungover, but mean,
Burrrp, who poured this grief so strong?
—José Enrique Medina
Burrrp, who poured this grief so strong?
—José Enrique Medina
Years later, I imagined my mother was a mystic,
that her fever dreams that summer were whispering deeper truths,
that the mechanical thump of her heart was a secret numerology.
—Doug Ramspeck
that her fever dreams that summer were whispering deeper truths,
that the mechanical thump of her heart was a secret numerology.
—Doug Ramspeck
Lanterns by Doug Ramspeck - Rattle: Poetry
The summer we placed my mother in the psychiatric hospital,
the July sunlight spray-painted itself as glare along the building’s walls
as we drove away.
www.rattle.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Years later, I imagined my mother was a mystic,
that her fever dreams that summer were whispering deeper truths,
that the mechanical thump of her heart was a secret numerology.
—Doug Ramspeck
that her fever dreams that summer were whispering deeper truths,
that the mechanical thump of her heart was a secret numerology.
—Doug Ramspeck
catching a tired leaf
the veins in my hand
—Sharon Ferrante
the veins in my hand
—Sharon Ferrante
What Happens in Autumn by Sharon Ferrante - Rattle: Poetry
autumn fun
bobbing for apples
he bites my lip
www.rattle.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:01 PM
catching a tired leaf
the veins in my hand
—Sharon Ferrante
the veins in my hand
—Sharon Ferrante
At our age, making love
is like climbing an old favorite tree
on a summer’s night …
—Karen Whittington Nelson
is like climbing an old favorite tree
on a summer’s night …
—Karen Whittington Nelson
Making Love at Our Age by Karen Whittington Nelson - Rattle: Poetry
At our age, making love
is like climbing an old favorite tree
on a summer’s night, pausing leisurely
in our ascent to appreciate the shimmer
and sway of moonlit leaves, the texture
of bark, the scarre...
www.rattle.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM
At our age, making love
is like climbing an old favorite tree
on a summer’s night …
—Karen Whittington Nelson
is like climbing an old favorite tree
on a summer’s night …
—Karen Whittington Nelson
A marriage is like architecture.
—Mary Pecaut
—Mary Pecaut
Separate Quarters by Mary Pecaut - Rattle: Poetry
Two structures standing through the same weather.
A marriage is like architecture.
www.rattle.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:41 PM
A marriage is like architecture.
—Mary Pecaut
—Mary Pecaut
forced to face a hungry, hot stare,
we felt them close and thought, we are like this …
—Katherine Barrett Swett
we felt them close and thought, we are like this …
—Katherine Barrett Swett
Central Park Zoo, 1970 by Katherine Barrett Swett - Rattle: Poetry
Back in the old zoo—the place the child
of New York’s Parks commissioner once called
Sing-Sing for beasts, where elephants and wild
cats, bears and rhinos were all jailed,
www.rattle.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:34 PM
forced to face a hungry, hot stare,
we felt them close and thought, we are like this …
—Katherine Barrett Swett
we felt them close and thought, we are like this …
—Katherine Barrett Swett
If I am to be devoured, then please, God, Night, Mouth in the Darkness, swallow me faster than one hair at a time.
—Alvin Lau
—Alvin Lau
To My Hair by Alvin Lau - Rattle: Poetry
I never admired how you grew into thick, resilient strands black as India ink: I used to bleach you so frail or shave you clean under the harsh summer sun.
www.rattle.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:39 PM
If I am to be devoured, then please, God, Night, Mouth in the Darkness, swallow me faster than one hair at a time.
—Alvin Lau
—Alvin Lau
I envy how he takes it all in,
soothed by the breeze ruffling his fur.
—Ken Hines
soothed by the breeze ruffling his fur.
—Ken Hines
Field Mouse Dangling from a Red-Tailed Hawk by Ken Hines - Rattle: Poetry
My first thought wasn’t the drama above
but the bone-tired scientist I read about
who held a mirror up to a mouse,
just to watch his whiskers
twitch.
www.rattle.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:09 PM
I envy how he takes it all in,
soothed by the breeze ruffling his fur.
—Ken Hines
soothed by the breeze ruffling his fur.
—Ken Hines
O Lord of the inverted verb,
You Who alone vouchsafe and deign,
Whom simpler diction might perturb …
—Maryann Corbett
You Who alone vouchsafe and deign,
Whom simpler diction might perturb …
—Maryann Corbett
Prayer Concerning the New, More ‘Accurate’ Translation of Certain Prayers by Maryann Corbett - Rattle: Poetry
O Lord of the inverted verb,
You Who alone vouchsafe and deign,
Whom simpler diction might perturb,
To Whom we may not make things plain
www.rattle.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:46 PM
O Lord of the inverted verb,
You Who alone vouchsafe and deign,
Whom simpler diction might perturb …
—Maryann Corbett
You Who alone vouchsafe and deign,
Whom simpler diction might perturb …
—Maryann Corbett
My father and I used to leave each other
notes inside the Skippy jar on scraps
of paper we tore from the pad that sat
by the rotary phone …
—Michele Herman
notes inside the Skippy jar on scraps
of paper we tore from the pad that sat
by the rotary phone …
—Michele Herman
Notes on Communication by Michele Herman - Rattle: Poetry
My father and I used to leave each other
notes inside the Skippy jar on scraps
of paper we tore from the pad that sat
www.rattle.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:56 PM
My father and I used to leave each other
notes inside the Skippy jar on scraps
of paper we tore from the pad that sat
by the rotary phone …
—Michele Herman
notes inside the Skippy jar on scraps
of paper we tore from the pad that sat
by the rotary phone …
—Michele Herman
Go out and listen to the frogs, he said.
They speak for you.
—J.R. Solonche
They speak for you.
—J.R. Solonche
Go Out and Listen to the Frogs by J.R. Solonche - Rattle: Poetry
They speak for you.
www.rattle.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Go out and listen to the frogs, he said.
They speak for you.
—J.R. Solonche
They speak for you.
—J.R. Solonche
For we don’t choose what makes us you and me:
A kiss you can’t put down, which authors you …
—Eric Bliman
A kiss you can’t put down, which authors you …
—Eric Bliman
Intransigence by Eric Bliman - Rattle: Poetry
But, now, she says we’re all just passing through
some fad that time will teach us to outgrow,
as if our lives were shapeless, ragged clothes
a hateful fashionista might well choose
www.rattle.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:56 PM
For we don’t choose what makes us you and me:
A kiss you can’t put down, which authors you …
—Eric Bliman
A kiss you can’t put down, which authors you …
—Eric Bliman
Her shoes said, love me
like a broken animal.
—Jamie Bradley
like a broken animal.
—Jamie Bradley
Ghazal by Jamie Bradley - Rattle: Poetry
Her shoes said, love me
like a broken animal.
www.rattle.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Her shoes said, love me
like a broken animal.
—Jamie Bradley
like a broken animal.
—Jamie Bradley