The Geist Jackpine Sonnet Contest is is underway and to make things interesting Geist is posting some of the submissions for you to read and comment on. Each poem will be posted anonymously (but with permission from the authors) and comments on the poem will not be considered in the judging. Remember, contest closes July 1st, so get writing!

The Cruelty of Curiosity

Watching a woman-haired boy Dispatching a sparrow at close range With a pellet gun, we stood in silence Beside an orchard stocked with the swollen Unremarked fruits of knowledge. The sun consented with a crimson glow. Later, under cover of night and secreted By a building’s unbetraying corner, I attempted my first cigarette, a small Miracle of unpleasant half-familiar Smells, ember, and beguiling poisons. The match sounded in the dark Like a steeple chime unheard and undreamed By our blanketed childlike mothers.