Folklore

Author Zane Paxton

Folklore

Zane Paxton

If you ask me for my name 
I should share about the shepherds, 
the invasion of the Normans; about the meaning 
of “a gift from God” 
and of the towns at peace. 

I could mention immigration, 
a printing press, an orphan. 
Or perhaps the pony-preachers latest sermon. 

You’d hear about the Ouchitas 
and the Cossatot River. My mother 
and her mother and hers. 
My father and a place called Mena. 

I came into a world not my own, 
with a land I didn’t discover, a family 
I didn’t name. It is here, 
among the already 
that I grow.  

If you ask me who I am 
I should open to Genesis. Talk 
about the voice of God, 
the unlistening heart and a promise. 

There would be a garden kingdom 
with morning rays, and a Man walking 
in the coolest hour. White cloth 
as from a silk-worm, 
dying on a stick, living like a flame. 

An answer I didn’t start,
I won’t end, and couldn’t write. 
A story that’s in me 
and that I’m in. 

If you ask me what I love 
I’d answer honestly: 
I love being here, talking with you.

We are hard at work preparing our first poetry anthology, shaped by the voices and authors published in Poems & Paraboles.

The anthology will be a collaborative poetry collection authored by poets on Substack. If your poem was posted in Poems & Paraboles this year, your work will be a part of the full-length print anthology.

There’s still time to submit poems for the anthology. If you had a poem posted this year, you’re invited to submit again. It would be wonderful for each poet to have 2-3 poems in the anthology.

Regarding submissions. If you would like to submit a poem, be sure to read previous work that’s already posted. You’ll gain a sense of what we’re looking for. We also recommend reading the About Page!

The submission window closes Tuesday, September 15th at midnight.

---