Kim Porter, Police Officer It was just a routine checkYou were only going to searchhis car, you saw his expired license tagsand a tree air freshenerhanging in the rear windowit would just be routine:your 26 years of experiencenever failed youthen a warrant check discoveredhe had a warrant, a weaponspossession charge; he figuredhe could outrun the […]
Read more "Erren Kelly – 2 POEMS"Matinee What movie are we in?I mean, is this the main featureor just a cartoon?Funny, huh?Why it seems so pivotal,no Grade B tragi-com, but drama, true to life. There should be long dolly shots,some camera crew on the fringes,proper lighting, a Greek background. Freeze frame.Get the picture.How painful is the close-up?Stop dreaming as if for […]
Read more "MATINEE BY STEPHEN MEAD"The Blue Sidewalk The blue sidewalkwas a little sad with pedestrians sleeping on itand others stepping on the cracks all day long. The stars abovewere sleeping as well or found another earth to shine for.Extra sad, the blue sidewalk disappearedat the corner of First and Broadway.
Read more "THE BLUE SIDEWALK BY Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal"Aubade A spasm of brown and tan crosses Armijo Lateral. Waves of squirming tadpoles fan like peacock feathers in a paunch of late morning light. In the low pool All-it-can-eat tadpoles. Slithering closer: a few feet long ½ those feet obscured by murky water. An effervescence in its eyes as it spits out its tongue […]
Read more "TIM STALEY – 2 POEMS"Instructions for Preventing Transgressions on Your Body When these precautions fail, attemptthe following:Administer a slap, a kick, some physical show of displeasure or just sit up and scream Stop, please, stop ~ Stockholm SyndromeYou say my voice is just a touch sexyHindsight, the red flags are everywhereYou ask What brings you to the big appleI’m not running […]
Read more "Jazmin Witherspoon – 3 POEMS"As One City girl in woods. A lake. A pier. Feet submerged. She squeals. It is cold. Aching ebbs. She sighs. Yellow butterfly hovers. Sharing wing music. Baby bass swimming. Fishers. Poles over shoulders. City girl shooes them. Feet over pebbles. Clumsy dance around boulders to the warblers’ beat. Fifty feet beneath limbs, leaves, parting […]
Read more "CARLA M. CHERRY – 3 POEMS"Writing It all starts on a blank page, blank like the silence that surrounds me every day. The things that no one else will say. That blank space into which I cast my line, trying to find out what the next line is again and again and again like punching against a wall of silence […]
Read more "Daniel Schulz – 4 POEMS"WHEN THE VIRUS CAME & STOLE MY WORDS The dreaded virus came & went but It hit hard for a few days when it was Even a struggle to make it off my Couch to my damn sofa but those days Are now firmly behind me but still Something lurks as if this lethargy may […]
Read more "BRADFORD MIDDLETON – 2 POEMS"GODDESS OF THE GOLDEN PATH She follows the magic of red bumblebee and fruit tree. In her honor I conduct lightning rods over scrolls of ancient China. Like a dance gliding over ice on a sidewalk, she’ll swing to heal my soul. She’ll be cheering for me as I emerge from pools of old ghosts […]
Read more "CLIFFORD SAUNDERS – 2 POEMS"I Remember, Lance, the Last Time I Saw You Step by step the snowthrough the windowof your dad’s study. With empty spaceyou shake hands.I asked if I could touch you.Who was that meant to ease? Before I left, I spoke to your momin the breakfast nook.She told me what you told hera few weeks ago, […]
Read more "TIM STALEY – I REMEMBER, LANCE, THE LAST TIME I SAW YOU"
Cacti Fur 