Joseph Ross is the author of five books of poetry, including Crushed & Crowned (2023). He teaches high school in Washington, D.C. and writes at www.JosephRoss.net.

Posts By This Author

If Only

by Joseph Ross 02-12-2024
A poem.
The illustration depicts Elijah McClain, a Black man wearing glasses, next to his violin. His eyes are closed.

Illustration by Laura Freeman 

For Elijah McClain (1996-2019). Killed by police in Aurora, Colo., he was known as a gentle soul who played his violin to soothe anxious animals in shelters. 

If only a violin could redeem
the world.

Your skin, glowing like the violin’s wood,
might still sing its humble lament.

Luke 5:1 Disciples

by Joseph Ross 03-01-2011

This time they are the ones cauth, though they try to close their eyes.

Audio Reading and Interview with Joseph Ross

by Joseph Ross, by Claire Lorentzen 03-01-2011

Hear Joseph Ross read his poem, Luke 5:1 Disciples.

The Church is Already Split

by Joseph Ross 04-01-2004

My concern with "Should the Church Split Over Gay and Lesbian Christians?" (February 2004 cover) is simple: For gay and lesbian Christians, the church has been split for a long, long time.

A Man Playing the Flute from a Cliff Above the Pacific

by Joseph Ross 07-01-2003

Indigo true
purest blue,
a man on a cliff
waits with open hands
and closed eyes
to receive
a breath.