O:JA&L Poetry: All forms & styles
Willa Potter
2/1/24
(imbolc)
I find myself putting
a lift in my step,
I find myself slowing
the lilt in my voice,
I find myself staring
like the deer
at a girl with a camera and
bell-sleeves.
The sun is resisting color
theory in its
wholly unbroken
purple-to-yellow hue.
A boy in a flowy
button-down and
Doc Martens dashes to
the lily-sleeved girl.
They move
their hands like angels
before a tripod, their
excitement rips
the tranquil page of the air
like geese cries,
and I start to picture
human behaviors
as just about
nature, and I long to see
the shots she’s getting now.
It’s moved quickly
from endearing
to beautiful.
She’s commanding
her angel-feather sleeves.
I want to watch.
I want to be privy
to the music in her
head that makes
her move like that.
I want to see moons rise
in the eyes of anyone
in love with her
Seeing her
scrape clay out of a river
in the air with her washed,
deliberate hands.
His flight is tense
meanwhile, reluctance
tugging at his
legs and arms.
Still they dance
before the frame,
below the sunset,
looking at this point solid blue.
About the writer:
Willa Potter is a poet, teacher, and artist currently living in Burlington Vermont. She graduated fromVassar College as an English major in the spring of 2025, and her poetry was awarded the Deanne Beach Stoneham Prize.
Image: Brigid’s Lamb (AI- assisted digitl image) by O:JA&L staff creative. 2026. Public domain via Midjourney AI.
OJAL Art Incorporated, publishing since 2017 as OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprints Buttonhook Press, HOT BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Issues, and HIGH BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Art, supports writers and artists worldwide.
BUTTONHOOK PRESS MASTERS SERIES
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The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Brian Clements on Prose Poetry
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The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Ray Gonzalez on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
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With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Roberta Allen on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Peter Conners on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Maxine Chernoff on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Pedro Ponce on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Tom Hazuka on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Kent Dixon on Flash Fiction & Nonfiction
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With an interview by Associate Editor Warwick Newnham
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RITES OF CALIBRATION: Images & Excerpts
Fine Art Photography by Rex Wilder
Fine Art Photography by Natalie Christensen
Painting and drawing by Anne-Marie Brown
BY LAND AND BY SEA: Awakening the Sensual
Sculpture and Installation by Mark Yale Harris
Painting and drawing by Bette Ridgeway
Painting and drawing by Kathleen Frank
Painting and drawing by Catherine Eaton Skinner
Implications of Energy
Artist portfolio of Dr. Ernest Williams III
