Submission Policy





Mel BrakE Press acquires first serial rights to all work published. Mel BrakE Press also reserves the right to electronically archive any content published.




All other rights revert to author upon publication.



Mel BrakE Press has a liberal submission policy, and will accept poetry manuscripts (not books) for its next publication cycle, the Spring of 2018.



We do not charge a reading fee. We DO NOT PAY TO PUBLISH YOUR WORK.



We only accept submissions via email for collection of poems. Please send no more than 3-5 pages of poetry as an email attachment using standard MS format. We do not accept epic manuscripts:10 pages or more will be rejected.



Please note in subject line: "Submission".

Manuscripts that do not follow our guidelines
will be subject to rejection. We do not publish books.



Direct submissions or questions to:

Melbrake@verizon.net



Thank you











Monday, March 21, 2016

The Poem of Sheena Hoff

Sheena Hoff



Stone People


Sometimes
I feel my throat closing up
From the smoke of our mother
My ears deafened by the sounds of her cries
And I feel it,
The way that it hurts
And I feel it,
The way that we ache
It’s sometimes like these times
That I hold a stone person in my palm
And I bring them up to my ear
And each time, they whisper:
“I am your ancestor,
I’ve been here all along
Rest the four corners of your feet upon me
For my composition is the same that you will find in your bones
The same that runs through your veins
I am your ancestor,
I’ve been here a long, long time”

This time,
 I ask the stone person:
Panicky now,
Can I take you with me!?
Please, oh please,
Because I am lonely here, you see
I’m not sure you understand
I say,
Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe
The smoke is getting thicker now
Smoke of Co2’s and CH4’s
Smoke of selfie sticks and
Selfishness
Of wastefulness
And ignorance is bliss
I’m in the generation of me, me, me
What can I do?
I’m just,
well,
Me…

The stone person, again,
More slowly this time,
So I can really hear her this time,
She says:
“I am your ancestor
I am your bones
I am your blood
I’ve been here a long, long time
I’ve watched you grow from stardust
And ocean sound
You’re in the generation of indigo
And the earth has asked for
And received for
The times ahead
Don’t be afraid
For its times like these times,
We must be strong for one another”
And playful now,
She half-jokes:
(Just like my grandmother would do)
“How come you only visit me when you want something?
Come talk with me more
As I said,
 I’ve been here a long, long time
And I have stories to tell.”



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