Iowa Writes

JOSHUA KRYAH
We Are Starved


Always blood and those who give of it so freely.

The hemophiliac, the martyr.

The meat-packing plant at the end of the street.

Piles of ice dumped out back, soaked through with the blood of
      deer, their hind legs broken, stabbed through, hung to drain.

And the children, always the children.

Gathering the ice into small handfuls, licking as on would
      a snow cone.

We did this because we loved the deer.

We wanted, someone, to tell it.

Our mouths full of salt and a senseless speaking.

We thought this was how you brought back the dead.

We thought you would believe us.

About Iowa Writes

Since 2006, Iowa Writes has featured the work of Iowa-identified writers (whether they have Iowa roots or live here now) and work published by Iowa journals and publishers on The Daily Palette. Iowa Writes features poetry, fiction, or nonfiction twice a week on the Palette.

In November of 2008, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Iowa City, Iowa, the world's third City of Literature, making the community part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.

Iowa City has joined Edinburgh, Scotland and Melbourne, Australia as UNESCO Cities of Literature.

Find out more about submitting by contacting iowa-writes@uiowa.edu


JOSHUA KRYAH

Joshua Kryah graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 2002. He is the author of two collections of poetry, We Are Starved (2011) and Glean (2007). He teaches at UNLV where he is the poetry editor of Witness.

This page was first displayed
on October 31, 2011

Find us on Facebook

Advanced Search & Archive
About The Project & Submit
Community Members