LEARNING A SONG by Jyothsna Phanija
Writing on a Tree
Thick plainness as sodaIce like migraineSlowing down thoughtsAs a reliefI findFingers covered in sandalwood paste.Half of it is wiped away with water, tingling,Listening to kajriI think of scrubbing fingers harshness in...
LIFE NEVER STOPS DANCING by Russo Shanidze
WHO ARE WE?
Words matter—Words are powerful—Words can save or immensely damage us.
But the question is “Which words do we want to choose to embroiderThe blank sheets that can last for a lifetime?”Before the words...
DIXIE CUP by Grant Vecera
Summer, Speedway, Indiana 1975
I guess because his dad was a dentist,Jeff Beverly had a 500 ml syringe—minus the needle.
Looking back, I understandwhy all the grown-upssaid I was disturbed
for many reasons, but mainly
because of that...
SEEK A TRUTH THAT HOLDS by Mark Vogel
Topography of the Historical Map
Others napped as the Rocky Mountain Sunday snowdrifted thick while we slow touched, increasinglynaked in the living room, gluing ourselves tight,until together in the spring storm our eyesgrew large living...
AT GOULD FARM by Daniel Senser
The Garden of Eden
There is a song in the wellspring of my being,a rainbow that shines forth from my eyes.Like a child’s tears, it is endless, and from mybreath wafts the scent of the...
LESSONS FROM MY FATHER by Yetta Rose Stein
REGARDING THE END
There is the brink.It is mostly off in the distance.It is sometimes very close.You will stroll up to it.Some of your friends will hungrily jog.There will be one or two who leap.You...
UNDER THE SUN by Robert Funderburk
Wives of Nightfall
We are theWives of nightfallMaidens of the dark
Our lips smooth as oilFeather-soft voicesSpeaking words of lustRobed in garments ofLove
Our prey who returnNight upon nightSeem somehow less humanTheir bodies shrinkingTheir eyes unseeingClouded by...
PRODIGAL DAUGHTER by Don Narkevic
Prodigal Daughter
The girl asked nothing from me,just left, hitching I suppose,my car still in the garage,my wallet untouched.She looks just like her mother,relatives say when they learn.
When I search her room, I find herchildhood...
PERVERSION by Kristal Peace
I Will Miss the Train
My shift starts earlyOn the ward, so I seeAnd hear what mostOf my countrymenOnly learn about second-hand.For instance,
This morning the sunStretched its armsRather timidly. I’ve never seen itBe so shy....
THE DAY THE MACHINES CAME by John Linstrom
The Day the Machines Came
We said, finally, here is some helpand for cheap. Somewhere someonehad dug the graves of a bygone age
and turned up the muck to racketthe tractor to life. We thirsted,had no...