Read the winning piece of our 2025 Nonfiction Contest “Through the Mirror” by Jessie Cato selected by Lucy Ives.

Read

Summer 1949 • Vol. XI No. 3 • Poetry |

Lovers in a Park

The claw protective flung
About her shoulders’ haven,
Decrees nor you nor I shall touch
His starveling heaven;

Her stars low sockets hold,
Thin lips her hollow,
Pale tongue through banks of teeth winds winds where
His love must follow.

Already have an account? Log in

Join KR for even more to read.

Sign up for a free account and read any five pieces a month.
Sign Up and Read for Free



Or become a subscriber today and get complete, immediate access to our digital archives at every subscription level.

Read More

Funeral

By Arthur Boyars

Friend, you were my child My mother also Ages long past: The worm is dead in the shell The spark lit its ruin: Already have an account? Log in Join […]

After Leaf-Fall

By W. R. Moses

Bare branches of late autumn reach in patience Toward the torn and raining autumn sky. They hold my torn heart in their waving crotches. Old people, with a fair amount […]

Upcoming
Workshops

Subscribe

Your free registration with The Kenyon Review includes access to exclusive content, early access to program registration, and more.

Donate

With your support, we’ll continue 
to cultivate talent and publish extraordinary literature from diverse voices around the world.