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Two Poems
by James Piatt The Enigma of Non-beingmy mind wandersstumbles.fallswinter winds fill minuteswith cold uncertaintyand… something elsei stagger listeningto echoes of absurdityi hearsomeone from Nowheresobbing for those like methentimelessness silence wonderingechoing nothingnessmemories lost in darknessof uncertaintylonely contents buildin the vastness of briny tears. Reality VanishedArriving in the late hoursof an iron colored metallic night,rusting symbolscovered with…
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Persephone
by Rae Rozman Last night, I dreamt of uson a warm fall eveningsitting beside a campfireTom Petty crooningWildflowersfrom unseen speakerspassing a bottle of bourbonback and forth. You wore your winter coat(the lavender one)despite the heat. I burned.Took off pieces of my clothingand threw themone by oneinto the firethe flames turning aubergine and amber. Naked, I…
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Two Poems
by Christina Petrides Pressure To be silencedis to be discouraged.Stifled dreams seep awayto poison air, earth,and people.Unrealized ambitions,thwarted hopes,and muted prayers seetheuntil they burstinto enraged action—blind, fierce, and embittered. Pep Talk Knock it back to good old times square one.Show them what you’re made of—not jelly donuts & egg-dipped toast,but vinegar and spit.Lift up the…
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Raspberries
by Jordan Williams To grow down first, then upin a fruit filled half acremeans a bittersweet bloodline pucker-tart memoriesthat sour pop in rear mouthas though unripened grapes small, unimpressive green globesraised on trellised vinespropped up right down the center of our backyardlike a vein we ran aroundduring kickball and the landlord, Judy with her obsessive…
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Suicide Squirrel
by Shawn Anto & I was driving down CSUB Way minding my own business Can I ask you something? really ask you. Can you be honest with me? really honest a squirrel…
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The Church Bells
by Chris Graves the church bells, temple bells, dinner bells, and funeral bells all sermon the wind, river psalm the cracked clavicle and clarinet of voice never networking. the world follows the drip drip drip of stars, dreams into porous pull, and iconic phases of the clanging moon. the moon dangles its light into the…
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The End of Whaling
by D.S. Maolalai and so we grew tired of lamp-oil. whaling too cruel a sport and death too much a price. dirty yellow light like tobacco-stained apartments. too cruel. better to crack the skin of rocks and dig down. and we did and black oil oozed forth, a boon without cruelty. more oil than we…
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Haircut
by Katie Pukash My voice is a hieroglyphhunting for a cave to call home.I cut my hair for this.I have seen all my mother’s untouched jewelry.I have worn out the family nooseby tying knots around everything that is swollen.There is a nightlight in my childhood bedroom without a bulb.Ask me how I survivedand I will…
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If My Name Were a Verb
by Glen Armstrong My body is here again.It doesn’t want to be.I’m angryat my clothing. I feel unbalanced when I watchmovies about peoplestarting overin new towns. My body has been to Detroit.It’s best to say that dangerisn’t dangerous. I’m angrythat the sensuous yet pragmaticshape of a canegets wastedon Christmas candy. It’s best to say that…
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Two Poems
by Lyn White RooksThere are just two pieces left.Two fragments of our dreams.Two castles in the air,the remnants of a gamewe playedwhere there was no winner.Like a game of chesswith an improbable ending.Just two rooks left on the board.More flying overour castles in the airleaving them behind. The Stack of StonesThe stack of flat stoneswas…