John Dorroh

John Dorroh may have taught high school science for several decades. Whether he did is still being discussed. Five of his poems were nominated for Best of the Net. Hundreds more have appeared in journals such as Feral, Wisconsin Review, River Heron, North Dakota Quarterly, Loch Raven Review, and Selcouth Station. He had two chapbooks published in 2022 – Swim at Your Risk and Personal Ad Poetry. He is a Southerner living in the Midwest.

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► John Dorroh's microchap & poem selections are available below. Download the single-page PDF by clicking the title.

Origami Microchap (Selections)

Gravity of the Situation

Click title to download microchap

John Dorroh BioCVR Gravity of the Situation 2023 Nov

Cover by JanK

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Collateral Damage

The wolves next door
are gnawing on our house
again. Ravenous appetite
for things they can’t digest.

They watch us wash dishes
through the kitchen window
waiting for us to make a
mistake: Take out garbage

in cold moonlight. Drop
chicken blood on the top
of my shoe. Track my own
blood into the back door.

Repurposed

My grandparent’s house
is now a Kroger grocery
store. Their bedroom is
a coffee station. Their
kitchen is produce.

They’ve been gone too
long so it’s not so sad
any more. When they
cut the tress to build
their house, my grand-
ma said, “Who knows
how long we’ll last?”

Never Ready

My mother’s hand quivered
in mine as she slipped away
into a brisk autumn morning.
My feathers are still wet.

Resurrection

There are lessons in bread.
Science principles, magic
in the way it all works out.
The rising like spirits,

proofing and rising again,
cold dough laid in metal
tombs, placed into an oven
for final rites of passage.

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Poets