INSTINCT By Chase Spruiell
INSTINCTBy Chase Spruiell
instinct
I look a dog dead in the eye.He squeaks. He squirms. But he stays where he is.Like the infantry. Like the front line. Stupid, a follower. Frozen,...
THE ASIAN SHOPKEEPER By Kay Merkel Boruff
THE ASIAN SHOPKEEPERBy Kay Merkel Boruff
The Asian Shopkeeper
My eyes adjust to the darkness,a darkness crowded with antiques splayed in discord.Candles silhouette artists’ legacies rendered...
THE PROPAGATION By Mark Young
THE PROPAGATIONBy Mark Young
The Mackerel
Fish school whenthe moon is out. Be-fore. Separate. Atvarious levels withdisparate meanings.States of grace. Wait-ing for the cast of lightacross the...
SHUDDER, By Dustin Pickering
SHUDDERBy Dustin Pickering
Shudder
Love, shudder and face me:look at these cold, keen eyesand terrify them.Make sound into lightand drive each fault down harder into my...
BLUE GRASS By Gabriella Garofalo
BLUE GRASSBy Gabriella Garofalo
God, why have you got so many souls? In the deepest blue of your existence No, you think and shout, no – Even stones fear beasts and kids Trees...
WATCHING THE SUN GO BY By Gareth Culshaw
WATCHING THE SUN GO BYBy Gareth Culshaw
WATCHING THE SUN GO BY
Her days were bythe window. An ornamentpainted by his hands.
She...
BREATHING By Bryan McCormack
BREATHINGBy Bryan McCormack BreathingThe father’s breathing steadiedto a light,sputtering hum.Outside his door, the sonlistened carefully, ingesting the hum’svibrations, producing another sputterin his eardrums.It was like this before, when the son was a boy,and...
ONE WEEK DAY WHILE WALKING By Jeremy Gadd
ONE WEEK DAYWHILE WALKING By Jeremy Gadd One week day while walking downWattle Street, I heard a cry thatbrought me to a halt in mid-stridelike a prisoner shackled to a wall,and my heart missed...
LIVE LIFE BECAUSE By Samantha Kriney
LIVE LIFE BECAUSEBy Samantha Kriney
You Were the Start, the Peace, My First Years --after Barry White
My feet loved the touch of my mother’s womb until...
HOMAGE TO ORWELL By Tomas Sanchez Hidalgo
HOMAGE TO ORWELLBy Tomas Sanchez Hidalgo
Homage to Orwell,
surrounded by slot machines,in the main hall(perhaps the Tanjiers?)by the penultimateof our national heroes,perfect for adults and...