• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Willawaw Journal

Online Poetry & Art

  • Home
  • Poet Laureate Prompts
    • Prompts for Spring 2021
    • Prompts for Winter 2020
    • Prompts for Fall 2020
    • Prompts for Spring 2020
    • Prompts for Winter 2019
    • Prompts for Fall 2019
    • Prompts for Spring 2019
    • Prompts for Winter 2018
    • Prompts for Fall 2018
    • Prompts for Spring 2018
    • Prompts for Winter 2017
    • Prompts for Summer 2017
  • Journal
    • Willawaw Journal Winter 2020 Issue 11
    • Willawaw Journal Fall 2020 Issue 10
    • Willawaw Journal Spring 2020 Issue 9
    • Willawaw Journal Winter 2019 Issue 8
    • Willawaw Journal Fall 2019 Issue 7
    • Willawaw Journal Spring 2019 Issue 6
    • Events
    • Willawaw Journal Winter 2018 Issue 5
    • Willawaw Journal Fall 2018 Issue 4
    • Willawaw Journal Spring 2018 Issue 3
    • Willawaw Journal Winter 2017 Issue 2
    • Willawaw Journal Summer 2017 Issue 1
  • Submissions
  • About
    • The Editor
    • Behind-the-Scenes Creatives and Advisors
  • Contact

Vincent Wixon

Surface Tension

In the place where an embarrassed silence falls,
I put a candlestick or a water glass.
–Yannis Ritsos, Monochords
Sometimes
it’s simple objects
that matter, a candle
lit on the windowsill,
the ceiling light off
so the glare dissolves
and the faces relax.
It’s still silent, but different.
The couple at the kitchen table
reach out to a glass of water
which has begun to inch
across the oilcloth.

Vincent Wixon’s recent book of poems is Laying By, from Flowstone Press. Previous volumes include Blue Moon: Poems from Chinese Lines and The Square Grove. He co-edited Sound of the Ax, a collection of William Stafford aphorisms and poems. Vincent Wixon lives in Ashland, Oregon.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Print

Related

Footer

Stay In Touch

Subscribe to our mailing list for news about events, opportunities, and of course, the latest issue of Willawaw Journal.
* indicates required
We respect your privacy and will never sell or rent your personal information to third parties.

Support

Willawaw Journal requires no reading fees for submissions. Please make a donation to support the running of Willawaw Journal. Thank you!

Support Willawaw Journal

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2021 Willawaw Journal, LLC · WordPress · site design by Yeda, LLC