I know youdon’t like raspberriesbecause the edgy seedsrub you the wrong waybut I have urgedand bitten the sharpnessout of themleaving onlythe notes of roseand cherry singingsweetly waitingdaintily for you onthe tip of my tongue Continue reading Chewing On It by Susan Shea
In Prague there is a forty-five-tonkinetic head of Kafka that rotatesaround in segments allowingthe face to keep creating itselfto focus on different viewsof the town square as a fitting tribute to the manwho worked right thereknown for turning a discontentedclerk into a bug while he slept he is now stuck in this revolvingweight, still showing ustransformation has its limitationswhen someone else decides wherewe will be … Continue reading Composition by Susan Shea
Coffee.Glug.Juke.Slug.Spam And Egg.Powder Keg.Cook.Boozer.SelfAbuser.HamOn Rye.Alibi.We’re EatingAt Wolfie’sYeah Yeah.Eating AtWolfie’s Tonight.Booth.Red.Bug.Dead.Grease.Splatter.Gray Matter.Clean Your Plate.Looks Like Bait.Pay The Bill.Abdicate.WaitressHip.Leather Whip.Don’t Forget To LeaveA Tip.Life’s ADrag A Reflex Gag.Don’t ForgetYour Doggy Bag. Continue reading Eating at Wolfie’s by Charlie Robert
I figured it out. Death is a calibrated average of life’s boredoms. Nothing much changes, and it goes on forever. What of heaven and hell? One day, out of the blue, an angel turns up with a message: They have seen the light. Your name is now a song. Continue reading Beloved, My Belated, Beloved by Robert Witmer
how he turned thereon the bank of thedark river and saidfook you, get all thosebooks away from me.and I stopped andsaid, well fook you toothen. he seemed to likethat and smiled.and I said SamSam what am I goingto do? still smilinghe cocked his head.you keep going,keep going tillthe end of the road.and what then I askedwhat then?he said nothing, just stared at me still smiling.the dark … Continue reading Sam by Frank Freeman
I tried to avoid the draft instead I stayed to serve breakfast lunch radio dinners in their aluminum coffins (all short orders) sex—the main love—the side blues on tap “And how would you like your brown-eyed baby girl?” I dished wiping the spit-shine from my tits “Sunny-side up or over easy?” “Easy,” you groaned— consciousness slipping from its zip-lock bag— Nirvana now only the name of a rock band “Easy, huh” me brushing flies from your lips— the stench of the … Continue reading Girls’ Night Out by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko
America! Remember me?Who am I? The little girl who stood upin first grade, hand over heart,and recited the Pledge of Allegiance: I pledge allegiance to the Flagof the United States of Americaand to the Republic for which it stands, one nationunder God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. “THAT LITTLE GIRL WAS ME!”to quote Kamala Harris, who was bussed to school.Like her, I believed … Continue reading Goodbye, America by Kathryn Adisman
Blessed With LiarsBarbed With Choirs.Most OfUs HaveGot Some PriorsPromised Land.Bible Thumper.Jesus DeadAnd God A Trumper.Witness.Preach.Tongue.Speech. Holy Word.Mockingbird. SteepleSharp.Lessons.Harp. Continue reading Promised Land by Charlie Robert
You feel out for anything resembling empathy or interest on the lower base of my back, a gentler hand skimmed over the sliver of skin in between my mini skirt and sheer black top.On purpose, I don’t wear a bra as we watch torture porn masquerading as a horror film.My boyfriend writes to me from back home; I leave a message saying I’ll talk to him … Continue reading Only threw this party for you by Gaia Huaira Capizzi Candiracci
Halloween night,Primo closed the pocket doorsTo the dining roomFor a game of Pinocle To continue between he,His chum Eskimo Ed & me.“Have a little trick-and-meld.”The ashtray spilled over:Hand-rolled cannabis stogies,Half-smoked roachesThey were passing to each other,Across the table to me.Pinocle was confusing already.48 cards, tricks & melds,Marriages & flushes, bidding. They both seemed to knowThe cards I held in my hand,Kept telling meWhich cards to play … Continue reading Halloween by Stephen Barile
