The Bluestone Review 2025

Poetry

The Beautiful Woman Matthew J. Spireng There was a beautiful woman who did not want to be told she was beautiful. To her it was criticism because she did not want to be judged by her looks. She thought You’re beautiful meant she was not considered intelligent, need not be respected for her mind. She was beautiful and her whole life she’d been told she was beautiful and it hurt to hear every time.

Still Life with Opened Envelope Matthew J. Spireng

Half-eaten pear from the bowl of pears next to the envelope, face down, flap ripped, next to a scatter of torn paper, a word or two in script visible: “sorry,” “I tried,” “Call if,” the legs of a toppled chair just evident to the right.

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