Gone with First Light I fear the dawnwhen gentle streaks of lightpoke through the trees,birds trill in a chorus of morning,deer graze the meadowin the fading mist. For at first light you will rise,sleep draining from your eyes,hair tousled, stretch to the heavens,and plop back beside me, warm,inviting, planting a first and lastkiss on my […]
Read more "PETER WITT – GONE WITH FIRST LIGHT"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 Gray Tree Is Graced I shot a winter photo of the Camperdown Elm. It is in Prospect Park near the lake, beside the boathouse. It’s the one Marianne Moore saved with a poem. It was old then, and thought dead. It is twisty, short and gnarly. Its two, heavy branches, one suffering a growing […]
Read more "THE GRAY TREE IS GRACED BY Gerald Wagoner"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"Butterfly Guts Older Sister. Little Brother. They pass the time by picking on each other. “Do you know that once a caterpillar turns into a Butterfly, it only lives for one more day?” Brother doesn’t dare question Sister. Sister knows everything. Sister can even count to one hundred. Brother blindly believes Sister for way too […]
Read more "ANTHONY LANDICINI – 2 POEMS"THANKS TO THE PULSING NEWS Every day spurting red over our world. Is it blood? It is blood. If I did not see the blood I would chew red meat, quaff red wine, don purple gilded robes, clothed in luxurious privilege. But news–you put the blood in my eye, stir my blood to rage, red on red. I will fight to the death, paint you in an […]
Read more "2 POEMS – VERN FEIN"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"THE FINAL ELEGY I see your fate as my brother’s was,as mine might have been—actions furthered by weakness,theatrics unworthy of review.That you find diversion inself-pity is unremarkable:through a glass,refracted light makes a fine mirror;a movie lens never focuses on soiled sheets.I can forgive you all but submissionthat is only vanity, only exhaustion.I’ll write you off […]
Read more "R.T. Castleberry – THE FINAL ELEGY"
Cacti Fur 