by Mary Beth Becker
Devotional
Sing
now of the
red sentence
-finisher throned in
my middle shaking with
want Sing of clover bloom
round like the green moons dan-
-gling in June from the cottonwoods
pearly gate keeper call my song
a tithe to your holies you bead of the joy-
ful mysteries body rosary marble she flicks and
licks until an organ plays and wind gathers beneath us
relinquishment how the bee falls lost in the snap
-dragon drunk sugarbag how she sips the pink pollen
pool until light falls down around her i remember the
early music how i plucked at first as if you were
a mandolin or a raspberry how I learned to lengthen
No thesis but pleasure the wild psalm heard young
in my mouth in my hands outside
in the true cathedral in the mile
field of peony trembling
so to
touch—
Poet Mary Beth Becker (she/her) is a 2025-2026 Loft Mentor Series Fellow in poetry. Her work is published in South Florida Poetry Journal, Hobart, West Trade Review, Spillway and Ballast, among others. She is a Pushcart Prize and Best-of-the-Net nominee and a friend to all rivers.
Artist Chelsea Tikotsky’s (she/her) paintings explore the interplay between forest and field—a metaphor for finding clarity, peace, and light through moments of stillness. Her work moves between landscapes, evoking the quiet mystery of the woods, and florals, reflecting the openness of the fields. Together, they invite viewers to pause, notice, and embrace the fleeting magic in everyday life. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tikotsky holds a B.A. in Studio Art from San Francisco State University and refined her perspective at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. Her work has been showcased across the U.S., including the 2024 PBS KVIE Art Auction (Juror’s Award), and featured in Visionary Art Collective (VAC) and Apricity Magazine (Volume 9, 2025). Her paintings are held in private collections both in the United States and abroad. You can follow her on Instagram @chelseatikotskyart.
Gulf Stream Magazine 