About Jared Leising
Jared Leising, originally from the Midwest, received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Houston. His stories and poems have appeared in various Washington publications such as Pontoon, Crab Creek Review, Stringtown, as well as on Metro Buses and local radio. Jared has worked as a writer-in-residence for Ballard and Nathan Hale High Schools. Currently, he teaches English at Cascadia Community College and is a volunteer for 826 Seattle, a youth writing center in Greenwood.
Nominated by 826 Seattle
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826 Seattle is a nonprofit writing and tutoring center dedicated to helping youth, ages six to 18, improve their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.
IOWA POSTCARDS
by Jared Leising
Bony, green bean bridges trapeze stone waves shattered to gravel in a room
by men who've drankslappedrank slept red with hands clenched, moon-husked
gleaning harvest scars, white grain elevator explosions and newsprint tight-roped
on the edge of a razor blade hovering over the classifieds sharpened and softened
by condensation from the exhaust of a morning cup: ardent, acrobatic clouds
seducing a pair of black bifocals and bloodshot blue eyes like a traveling circus
blurred by October railroading past burning groves hiding rust and splintered
thigh-grass farmhouses hemorrhaging the hills.