Publisher, Rural Fiction Magazine; publisher, The Chamber Magazine; founder, the Farmington Writers Circle. I have written short stories and poetry for many years. In my careers as a Naval officer and in the federal government, I have written thousands of documents of many types. I am currently working on a second edition for my poetry collection and a few novels.
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Also, don’t forget that RFM is open to submissions of stories and poems about rural life in the US or around the world 24/7/365. Visit our submissions page for more information. There is no pay other than the publication credit and exposure, but we strive to reach a worldwide audience and to give our contributors as much exposure as possible.
—remembering ¬¬a farm foreclosure.
For Darrell Ringer, 1953-93
“Thank you,” he said, while the black eyes
drilled from the shadow of his ballcap
as we stood in the sunbaked square
of a Kansas town where we’d just rallied
against such business as no one with honor
should dare to defend—then drove
over pocked macadam, between shoulders
cascading with purple wildflowers, wheat
turning green to gold—the field after field,
the rich carpet called forth, turned over,
culled with such care that I, for one,
don’t have blisters enough to imagine—
and beneath it the black earth seethes
with world-feeding life. Then we arrived
at his farm. Beautiful, I’d often thought,
this life, how the green soybean hug
at the earth and alfalfa explodes into pink
and animals trudge toward us in the slow-
motion rhythm of paddock-bound shadows
until their heads hike up with quick interest
when haybales are pitched with a thud
between the tarnished steel rails of the crib.
But the earth and its moods are uncertain,
despite the disconsolate pleading it gets
when sleep doesn’t come, that a storm
please pass by without flooding at harvest;
that a drought not set in, the wind not whisk
topsoil to a powder-dry ash floating off
in a glitter-filled cloud to the red
of a summer-long sun. And of course
words are addressed to the Notice of Debt
that’s attached like a leech to the title,
which is after all a mere sheet of paper
approved by the courts but without
the least smell of wet dirt to grace it.
And of all he foresaw or was faced with,
what he couldn’t agree to was losing this land
without even a fight. They might take it all,
but the fight, at least—they couldn’t take that.
Of David Salner’s sixth poetry collection, John Skoyles, Ploughshares poetry editor, said: “The Green Vault Heist is not only a beautiful book, it is great company.” Salner’s debut novel, A Place to Hide, won first place for 1900s historical fiction from Next Generation Indie Book Awards. This poem is reprinted from The Green Vault Heist. Both books are available on amazon or from the author dsalner@hotmail.com
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Rural Fiction Magazine (RFM) would like to publish more writers from around the world, regardless of your country of origin.
I am seeking short fiction and poetry and non-fiction articles on topics of interest to a rural audience in any nation, but I am open to more than just fiction and poetry. I am also open to short plays, folklore, legends, tall tales, essays, etc. I am open to almost all genres such as fantasy, science-fiction, horror, mainstream, literary, romance, etc, so long as they are connected to rural life and/or have a rural setting.
Your work must be in English. It can a translation from your native language, but it must be in English, which is spoken around the globe and gives the work and author substantial worldwide exposure.
Please note that there is no pay for this other than a publication credit and exposure to the American and English markets. However, all rights remain with the author.
Currently, RFM is publishing material within a few weeks of acceptance, though this may vary depending on the number of submissions.
Please re-post or share this announcement to give it maximum exposure.
Australian Wood Duck. Photo by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos
Strathfieldsaye, Dja Dja Wurrung Country
i.
creekside—
river red gums
creak
ii.
perched
on a river red gum branch—
an Aussie wood duck
goes gnaarrk…
iii.
amidst birdsongs—
Eastern banjo frogs
resonate
iv.
I walk along this creek—
all fellow walkers
say hi
Ginko is the Japanese term for a haiku walk, which involves going on a walk to find inspiration for haiku writing.
Michael Leach is an award-winning Australian poet and academic at Monash University School of Rural Health. Michael’s poems reside in various outlets and his two books: Chronicity (MPU, 2020) and Natural Philosophies (RWP, 2022). Michael lives on unceded Dja Dja Wurrung Country and acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land.
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