Poetry - Year IV - Number 21 - February 2019

NE PLUS ULTRAby John Casey This That momentYour sweet smileElevated meAsked for nothingWarmed my world-worn heartValidated my existence The honest, nova-bright life of your eyesThat purest expression of a wantOnly to loveOnly meAnd I was overcome A sublime,...

LETTER TO A YOUNG POETby Korkut Onaran AFFINITIES A starfish lives in a five-hour day,an octopus in October.Words are crawling all over me!‘Cheek’ sits on my cheek. ‘T’ is Christian, ‘t’ is born again.‘K’ is my name,...

ETERNAL AND INFINITEby Scott Thomas Outlar Loki’s Ammunition Sometimes we mustset the book asidefor a moment,exhale a deep breath,and exclaim,“My God, that’s what a poem is!” No whitewash on the crescendowhere it all went to hell. No handbasket...

BUTTON COLLECTIONby Howard Winn   BUTTON COLLECTIONBringing order to our mother’s house,as she sat in her rocking chairwatching a daytime television program,my sister threw out old candy boxescontaining buttons hoardedfrom at least sixty years.They sounded like...

THAT OLD BLACK MAGICby Gary Beck Machine Learning Before a car can drivewithout a human,one must first get behind the wheel.As the driver accelerates,stops and turns on local streets,sensors in the carrecord what he seesand how...

REDUCTIONby Jonathan Dowdle RiffIn the rebound, resound,Where all thoughts go to drown,And we sleep beneath the sea,That buries us in echoes bleed;How are we to sleep or dreamBetween the stitch and the seam,Plucking grief from...

RED FORESTby Dmitry Blizniuk Red forest You live in me.Every morning you come to my eyesFrom inside my head. They look like French windows –Their clear cast glass extends down to your feet.You stretch yourself on...

THE LAW OF SILENCEby David Dephy When a Poet I am a firm believerThat as soon as a person stops lyingTo himself,He will be able to find someoneHe can trust unconditionally.And this someone is his own...

LOVEby Katharine Studer Love Before the word is spokenA man might walk on handsDangling mid-air without a net or wire,Concentrating to keep the weightof his legs extended straight in the center,Nudging his fingers to gain an...

BUTTON COLLECTIONby Howard Winn   BUTTON COLLECTIONBringing order to our mother’s house,as she sat in her rocking chairwatching a daytime television program,my sister threw out old candy boxescontaining buttons hoardedfrom at least sixty years.They sounded like...