STIRRING
Founded in 1999, Stirring is one of the oldest continuously publishing journals on the internet.
Stirring is an electronic quarterly journal.
Founded in 1999, Stirring is one of the oldest continuously publishing journals on the internet.
Stirring is an electronic quarterly journal.
JOHN MARK BROWN
Your mother
was there
scratching the back
of her hand
for the itch in the black of her
lungs.
Your father
stood by,
passive half smile
maybe forced
when your pursed lips hit
my skin.
600 feet
above the
Mississippi, we were a
Twain told
anachronism, our twine leading
out of the cave.
I felt it the moment your pride gave.
I felt it
the moment
it sparked on my face.
I felt it
on the walk back
to the elevators, and
I felt it the all the way down
to the ground.
John Mark Brown is a southern Illinois native, a senior creative writing student at Eastern Illinois University, and a cardigan enthusiast. Their work has appeared in the Indiana Review, Yellow Chair Review, Indiana Voice Journal, and Random Sample Review, among others. They can be found on Twitter at @johnbrownie13.
