Richard Baldasty's poetry and short fiction have appeared in New Orleans Review, The Apalachee Quarterly, Epoch, Willow Springs, Karamu, and other literary magazines. He was a Pushcart nominee in 2001 (submitted by the editors of Stray Dog). Work in 2006 includes poems in the current issues of Pinyon and New Delta Review. Mr. Baldasty teaches history and philosophy at Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane, WA.

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That Day

After long winter the gods smiled.
Flowers laughed so openly red tulips
showed silk ink black-pooled
in wells of gold throats.
Our empress for once got a paper cut
without calling servants to bind it.
War was over—
lies could stop too.
As each truth flew spoken the hungry
rose to taste it mid-air.
Kittens tussled in Scarlatti sunlight.
Even the great stone head in the fern bed
seemed less stern more willing and new
as she grew green curls of moss,
lime brows of lichen.
I dreamed justice-rolling-down-like-water
and I did not fear to wake.

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