4X2

an online poetry journal

Photo by Melissa Hotchkiss

  • Resignation

    by Laura Dixon

    Some things I cannot master. Roofing,
    for one. I made it as far as the tear-off,
    but tar and nails are depressing

    as Greek drama, car commercials,
    all designed to teach you
    what your best efforts won’t amount to.

    Read more ...

  • Poem

    by Sean Burke

    This cloud was refurbished
    by an online merchant
    who works days as the moon's half-eaten orange

    and blinks in near-perfect intervals.
    His taste in atheleisure's renown.
    He wants you to notice

    Read more ...

  • About 4x2

    Every two months, Barrow Street editors choose four poets who have not yet published a chapbook or full-length book of poems. For past issues, click HERE. Find our complete guidelines HERE.

  • Repetition ritual for summoning the good witch

    by KT Herr

              On a large screen I watch ice-
                                  fisted hail shatter a windshield. Something about storm
                                            footage gets the beams of my body
    hot. Thrumming. Like they could lift
                                  & land in some swifter place. Later, a real storm

         tramples Florida. The air conditioner
                                  exhales to a halt, then clears

    Read more ...

  • Comfort of Home

    by Kristen Holt-Browning

    Awake at the false hearth, thinking about architecture,
    how every structure I create is hostage
    to water. The heat of this art is simple:
    eyes open, wide through the mourning. This is to say night
    comes early now, and I save nothing. Flip a switch
    and gas flames to small fire, grazes
    artificial wood. We do not have to build

    Read more ...