Chris Daly ~ DANCER IN THE DARK

Dancer in the dark

It’s ten miles from my long beach apt

to the bros of st patrick in midway city.

On a bike there are two rough patches:

on Westminster a quarter mile sprint

from the market place in-road to the bridge

over the flood control near the power plant

(no bike lane by the curb, cars making the short

sprint to the freeway turn, old and

over-coffee’d citizens, me dialing long

distance to my legs without special

rates)

and the two open miles

further along the same easement

between parallel fences

of the naval station, exposed to

silos of eternity.

The childhood secret of peddling

is to take your time.

It’s also a good way to miss

the toe-dancing. The guinness

was gone, good thing I’d picked

up same at the viet liquor store.

The way back a zen coast or

walk under the influence

stepping out of headlights

casually as

a homeless fred astaire.

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3 poems by Alexandra Gilliam

QUARANTINE I bought the largest bag of pom poms, remembering mopping the floor each night after close, my dad waiting in the closed shop  while I washed the dishes, we waited and went to    Whataburger when I didn’t have a car after I broke off my first  engagement, the details they say, the yellow of […]

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VERN FEIN ~ PUPPET TALK

PUPPET TALK  How I feel about these times. Anon. I move my feet  I dance and dance, up and down, up and down, cannot stop.  The cares of the world marionette me all around and around up and down, up and down. I cannot exit. The curtains never close. Characters appear  and disappear. They whisper,  point, […]

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3 poems by marc janssen

WILLAMETTE JANUARY II It is 7:30 when Monet paints nude tree groves with Vaporous strokes Dust silver water Blindly runs past the landing Silently whispers Cruel eddies catch Half submerged giants, force Them to angry sleep ~~~ MARC AND DUKE DRIVE TO THE RESERVOIR (Riverfront Park – East St. Louis Toodle-o) Been on the road a […]

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Amy Fogerson ~ Tidepool

TIDEPOOL crouched precariously on the rough stone balanced in rubber flipflops toes damp and sandy peering into an exotic world hermit crabs and starfish anemones and seaweed on colorful display the water rolls in and a small fish appears darting in search of an exit caught until the tide rises endlessly fascinating to the young […]

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3 POEMS BY GLEN CALLEJA

(all 3 poems translated from Maltese by Albert Gatt) Someone’s wife refuses to follow. Someone’s wife refuses to follow her therapist’s advice. She finally changes out of her work uniform. She nibbles at a chunk of dark chocolate. Insists that she’s on first name terms with Buddha. That he’s like an old faux pas, addled […]

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