Secrets by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

In the dark she would whisper all the ways I could go— off the ledge   a speeding car No one would have to know  Bury myself inside myself or maybe under a scalpel Be consumed by alcohol one bite of a poisoned apple  Two girls still in pigtails leading second-hand lives… we wiped blood off floors our swollen lips  one—her inner thighs  Polished silver with our tears while the living room was dying All the shades were at half-mast leaky … Continue reading Secrets by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

Spam Risk by Charlie Robert

When Your A-EyeIs An A-HoleAnd YourGods AreOn ThePayroll.Spam Risk.White Lies.Loose Lips.Commie Spies.When Your Micro Will Not ProcessCan’t AskGoogle How To Cross Dress.Spam Risk.Bad Chip.Floppy Disk.Landing Strip.When Your Numbers All TurnRed.All Your HackersDaily Bread.Spam Risk.Free Porn. Get Frisked.Reborn.There’s A BotIn YourHead.Say GoodbyeTo Street Cred. There’s A BotIn YourHead.Blow Up DollIn Your Bed. Continue reading Spam Risk by Charlie Robert

How are you this January evening? by Dale Champlin

Are you surprised I am dead?—me too! I’m usually more than a soccer mom with a wife, a dead husband,and a six-year-old son. I left with unfinished poems,a glove compartment of stuffiesand a hole in my windshield. I tried to act casual about it—the masked men, eyes bugging out of their headspadded flak vests and crackling voices.I backed up and turned my wheel. You saw how icy the … Continue reading How are you this January evening? by Dale Champlin

Renee Nicole Good by Thomas Wells

Renee Nicole Good,poet, writer, mother of three.A domestic terrorist.           She had it coming to her!Stuffed animals in her glove compartment,the family dog in the backseat. Renee Nicole Good,Loving, forgiving and affectionate.She had a whistle strung around her neck,           They came for her with guns.Roving gangs of masked Gestapo. Renee Nicole Good,A domestic terrorist.They shot her three times in the face.          She had it coming to her!This spring of … Continue reading Renee Nicole Good by Thomas Wells

Hope is Relentless by Thomas Wells

There is a persistent embrace,a longing and a kissing,a childlike giggling,a free and predictable smile. Life foresees every dawning,foretastes every light ray,foretells every essence,forecasts every ambience. Life proclaims every mountaintop,every sultry, tangled jungle,every scorched and waterless desert,every fathomless ocean floor.     Dreams are uncharted roadmaps,virtual animated realities,virtual luminous mysteries,virtual unconscious answers. When we are manhandled, our humanity maligned,our freedoms denied,Hope must never leave us.             Hope is a relentless … Continue reading Hope is Relentless by Thomas Wells

Slightly Under a Year of (Not So Much) Rest and Relaxation: The Coin

*Note: the narrator of The Coin will be referred to as The Palestinian Narrator, and the narrator of My Year of Rest and Relaxation will be referred to as The Blonde Narrator. Among the blurbs on the back of Yasmin Zaher’s debut novel, The Coin, Alice Slater writes that it is a “sordid Moshfeghian gem that revels in the squalor of NYC.” Yes, much as … Continue reading Slightly Under a Year of (Not So Much) Rest and Relaxation: The Coin

Auld Lang Syne by Charlie Robert

Should TruthAnd JusticeBe Forgot.Our WrongsDefined By Rights.Should SkinThat’s BrownGet OutOf Town.Our DaysNow PutOn ICE.ShouldBombs And DronesBe LaunchedBy Phones.Borders.Ripped To Shreds.ChildrenPlayingIn The Ruins.KilledWhile They’re In Bed.Should OldIllusionsOf Peace On Earth.Wake OurLiving Dead.Let’s HopeDelusion’s End Is Near.Let’s Find A WayTo Face The Fear.Let’s Drink That CupOf KindnessDear.For AuldLang Syne. Continue reading Auld Lang Syne by Charlie Robert

Flower Poems Stab the Most by Laure-Hélène Zinguerevitch

from the shrub a rose opensmurder me at your willI am ever-growingfrom roots deeply rooted in the soilnurturing and nurtured from the earthoverflowingstrong—I bendI crytorrents of rainstronger-willed and patientI hold the worldinside the rose another rose openswhile life seeps out from the vaseyou neglect to waterI am the Goddess you forgotthe stalkthe leaves festerfrom within the petals the truth flowsthe sword will not killI hold the worldinside this roseand … Continue reading Flower Poems Stab the Most by Laure-Hélène Zinguerevitch

Maybe The Most Remarkable Element About Misery Now is the Notion That a Writer Could Have a Stalker

Although Stephen King created Annie Wilkes, it was Rob Reiner who truly brought her to life by making the executive decision to cast Kathy Bates in the 1990 adaptation of the novel. For while it was screenwriter William Goldman who recommended the then relatively unknown theater actress for the part, it was Reiner who had the final say in greenlighting her for the role (which … Continue reading Maybe The Most Remarkable Element About Misery Now is the Notion That a Writer Could Have a Stalker