GWIL JAMES THOMAS – THE MOST MAGICAL THING TO HAPPEN ALL WEEK

The Most MagicalThing To HappenAll Week. In the kitchen at work,a gargantuandaddy long legs landsin the bug zapperto an electricdrum solo of death –as we watchits poor bodyget cocoonedby sparks,before splittingand melting betweenthe live metal bars,as we’re promptly toldto get back tothe chopping, washing,baking and the realityof our white tiled room –whilst we sniff atthe […]

Robin Wyatt Dunn – The Unprintable Word Beckons Me to Take a Seat

The Unprintable Word Beckons Me to Take a Seat the first call is very nicestretched out over the stratosphereshe beckons me into her earI listen to the sound of myselfrubbing up against my legspurringhummingthe song I always wanted to hear*somewhere inside of the telephonetrembling in fearits jacket coming off the sleeves*“I’ve never been inside here” […]

CLAUDIA WYSOCKY – “The Elenore”

“The Elenore” The Eleonore is secretly a bitter enemy of the male. She is a great betrayer of tenderness, she will crack open any egg, reveal its yolk, and then devour it. Without remorse she will lay waste to the infrastructure of romance— nature’s most fragile and beautiful invention. She is an agent of chaos, […]

JOHN GREY – A TO-DO LIST

A TO-DO LISTmake you happy,face east,keep an eye out for harlequins,look more up than down,walk and grunt at the same time,hold my nose when appropriate,don’t sneeze in public,do not use the word ‘gangrene’ in a sentence,give that old jacket to a homeless man,end one thing, begin another,pretend I’m an intruder in my own house,indulge in […]

MARK J MITCHELL – AN ABSENCE

AN ABSENCE

Rosmarie Epaminondas – because he can

because he can This morning he touched my cheek with tenderness where he had bruised it last night. Didn’t notice the purple mark left by his rage. Then he gently closed the door. Each day I move ever deeper into my mind space, hug myself with insubstantial arms intent on healing the wounded me, build […]

TIM STALEY – LAST RITES OF A SHOOK MONKEY

Last Rites of a Shook Monkey for the Wharf Rats If this is preaching, it’s from the pulpit Jerry builtin rehab before his last breath. If this is preaching, it’s for those who reachedbetween the feetto pull the plugfrom Jim Morrison’s tub. If this is preaching, it’s for the familiesof the six who diedeaths of […]

Sarah Daly – After the Rain

After the Rain I glimpsed happiness, among the green leaves and damp grasses— the blades with their crystalline tears witnessed this joy, and partook in that brief, warm peace, which fades so rapidly.

JANE HIRSHFIELD – WITHIN THIS TREE

Within This Tree Within this tree another tree inhabits the same body: within this stone another stone rests, its many shades of grey the same, its identical surface and weight. And within my body, another body, whose history, waiting, sings: there is no other body, it sings, there is no other world. This poem was […]

JUDITH YARROW – MEDITATION: LISTENING

Meditation: Listening Listen. Nearby, water rushes through the hose, birds twitter in a bush. wind rustles leaves. Listen out farther. Crows cawing in a tree, hammers on a building site, distant dull roar of traffic. Listen for the sounds of clouds as they pile up, or scud along, or fold themselves into rain. Listen beyond. […]

Cacti Fur

a poetry high ground

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