CARY ZITER ~ CAUTION TO THE WIND

CAUTION TO THE WIND Though she barely spoke Englishthe heat between us was jalapenoand habanero and we threw cautionto the wind and hid ourselves in the highgrass of a barely-visited corner of the citypark and we unwound and undressed andthere was power and propulsion as thewhole caboodle lifted off for outer space.Tender work fingers touched […]

BOB MCNEIL ~ AVUNCULAR SAM (for America’s anniversary)

Avuncular Sam (for America’s anniversary) Believe it or not, I have changed. Once I revered a crown. Later, I served an army that hated taxation to the degree cats loathe baths. Believe it or not, I have changed. Once I supported royals. Later, I became loyal to a democracy that, even to this day, is […]

2 POEMS BY Robert Beveridge

Give Generously
CW: sexual assault, murder (implied), cannibalism (implied)

the girl at the Chik-Fil-A counter
doesn’t look old enough to drive
but that doesn’t stop the customer
from wrapping a 20 around his dick
before he slaps it down. She calls
her manager, who emerges
from the back all smiles, reveals
teeth filed to points as she asks
if she can be of assistance.

Later, over mops, the two women
discuss the idea of approaching
corporate with an idea
for a new breakfast sausage.

~~~

Wheel of Fortune

The truck runs, at least well enough
to get to the motel. Won’t need stripped
for a while. Nothing left to do
but grab an Iron Dome coffee, snacks, the woman
you intend to tie up tonight.
“No extra charge for the cream,”
the counter boy says through his
sepia lipstick, batting his eyes.
“No extra charge at all.”

~~~

Find Robert online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xterminal/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/xterminal/
last.fm: https://www.last.fm/user/xterminal

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, […]

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 […]

Pranika Singh ~ the person i love asks me to explain poetry to him

the person i love asks me to explain poetry to him setting the kind of day that stretches outward and rewinds and folds back on itself so that the whole evening is a jenga tower of memories wedged together precariously until it collapses when a particularly unlucky player tries to pull out one too close […]

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 […]

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 […]

CARY ZITER ~ Send Off

SEND OFF standing back in darker shadowsso i cannot see – she gives methe middle finger – in front of mesnowy mountains, a lonely road –the endless empty sky.

N.T. Chambers ~ A Walk Along Forever

A Walk Along Forever

Cacti Fur

a poetry high ground

poetry