John Leonard
John Leonard is a 27 year old professor of composition and assistant editor of Twyckenham Notes, a poetry journal based out of South Bend, Indiana. He holds an M.A. in English from Indiana University. His previous works have appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry Quarterly, The Jawline Review, Fearsome Critters: A Millennial Arts Journal, Up the Staircase Quarterly and Burningword Literary Journal. He was the 2016 inaugural recipient of the Wolfson Poetry Award and 2018 recipient of the Josephine K. Piercy Memorial Award. He lives in Elkhart, Indiana with his wife, three cats, and two dogs.
Nostalgia 1961
He always puts an extra steak on the grill,
just in case a neighbor stops by.
It’s not that kind of world anymore.
The wind was his only visitor that night
and it carried with it the animated buzz
of a nearby bonfire.
He thought about all the funerals he attended
last April and he thought about Hurricane Jenny.
The sun’s last breath felt like thunder.
A child down the street yelled,
Olly olly oxen free,
But to him it sounded like,
All your friends die in spring.
Sheila-Na-Gig online 