INNER FLOW by Navin Manik
Inner Flow
Nothingness could be difficultMirror could be painfulSilence isn't vulnerableSitting still isn't idleHealing isn't necessarily joyfulWisdom isn't just jawful
Simple is so beautifulReal isn't just relatableNaked is very naturalNature is living spiritualLight & dark are...
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....
BATHING BEAUTY by Sandra Kolankiewicz
Archeology
Two old men with trowels and a permitdig a strategic trench from just beyondthe base of the tulip poplar to theedge of the mound, where an old etching nowsuggests something lies undiscovered. Theyoften spent...
NEIGHBOURS by Erin Jamieson
Neighbours
while everyone sleepsunder milky moonlightstars coat my eyelashesbody is more than shadowshadows won’t overtakemy mind- trapped ina studio apartment withone filmy window
balcony light flickersmy neighbour must be awakemust have a mind like mineor perhaps...
TOURNIQUET HEART by John Sweet
tourniquet heart
early morning coldspring sunlight yr sisterdragged through town by yrmother’s boyfriend and one of themlaughing and one of themwounded
shadows of silent buildings anddying trees and you were15 when you escaped
i was 22 when...
SPADES by Adam Fenner
Spades
Eight eyes face inward,an imperfect squareMeticulous tick marksA careful scribeFifty two cards,twelve face,thirteen spadesDealer shuffles,a sliding bridgeYou splitKnuckles rapConfidentNot enough for blindDealA flurry of movementCount’emWe good?Good. BidI’ll go nillThe hell you willFour eyes lock,a...
EMPEROR’S CONCERTO by Richard Weaver
Emperor’s Concerto, Ocean Springs MS, 1943
My blackened windows are part of the coastalwar defense, or so I’ve been told. Even so,this is no room for sleep. Beethoven’s violins race
through the open door of night...
EVELYN by Carrie Magness Radna
Evelyn (no. 141 of Women’s names sensual series)
Mind’s racing every day, but today—it’s stillsince I hung up the phone, the doctor shared with me the news:My sister is now dead—
Now I am all alone...
REFLECTION by Dennis Herrell
Reasoning
Reasoning saysWe all have to dieYou sayIt’s a step to foreverI sayHeaven is highAnd I am earth.
Reflection
Two images remaineddistilled from some human show.
A black man hanging from an oak,body limp, head tilted left,devout crowd...
SOFT, DEAD LEAF by Winslow MacDonald
I. Soft, Dead Leaf
The night that you killed yourselfI walked down to the clearing whereAs boysWe had built a settlement,As pioneers we cleared the trees,And when the land gasped outWe leaned logs against bouldersAnd...