THE RAVEN REVIEW
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  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contributors
    • Support Us
  • Submit
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
    • Volume I >
      • Issue I
      • Issue II
      • Issue III
      • Issue IV
    • Volume II >
      • Issue I
      • Issue II
      • Issue III
      • Issue IV
    • Volume III >
      • Issue I
      • Issue II
      • Issue III
      • Issue IV
    • Volume IV >
      • Issue I
      • Issue II
      • Issue III
      • Issue IV
    • Volume V >
      • Issue I
      • Issue II
      • Issue III
      • Issue IV
    • Volume VI >
      • Issue I
      • Issue II

Storm Windows

by Maria Masington​
as she decorated the nursery
a panicked tap of praying mantis
tall, proud, hands folded in worship
trapped between two panes of glass

in hormonal bliss 
she thought him a good omen
a messenger in preparation 
for the arrival of a son

encased in the transparency
he calmed briefly for her to lift the pane, 
free him into the world with good tidings
of the beloved infant to come.

​proud, grace-filled, handsome 
hands folded in prayers ignored
trapped between pains of 
addiction and self-loathing

smashing into the glass,
panicking when she tries to assist
the beautiful blessing,
she cannot cure

demon trapped within, 
keeping him slave to the needle
she finds him puddled on the floor
and prays she can find a pulse

Maria Masington is a poet, author, and spoken word artist from Wilmington, Delaware.  Her poetry has appeared in over a dozen publications including Adanna, The News Journal, The Broadkill Review, and Earth’s Daughters. She has also had six short stories published in anthologies through Smart Rhino Publications and Cat & Mouse Press.  Maria is a member of the Written Remains Writers Guild and The Mad Poets Society and is an emcee and featured poet on the local art scene.  She has been a guest on WVUD ArtSounds and a three-time Delaware Division of the Arts fellow for poetry and prose retreats.