You are your best thing.

-Toni Morrison

Poem of the Month

Prayer to Our Stairs

by Rosalie Hendon

O ancient boards

and narrow treads,

Hold me

Bear my weight

Deliver me in one piece,

and all I cradle, too—

water and glass,

mirrors and living things

Every day I picture myself in a heap

bruised and broken at the bottom

And I pray, not today

I do my part,

I place my feet

as if there were eggshells

littering the ground

I take my time

But gravity is a force

and you, stairs, are another

More than a century of steps you held

Let me pass, whole and hale

Let me make it, this time,

unscathed

Established in 1974 and named for the Sucarnochee River that runs near the University of West Alabama, The Sucarnochee Review is published annually by the University's Department of English and History. We are student-led and student-edited and we believe strongly in the value of amplifying student voices. As a result, we proudly make space in each of our issues for new and upcoming undergraduate writers.

That being said, we are open to writers of all ages and at all stages in their career. We read poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and we look forward to reading your work!