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
Can anyone hear me over I am a country in distress a state of emergency over and under protest arbitrary arrest a rescue mission in critical condition an act of sedition without contrition Can anyone help me??over a hungry nation a demonstration without work without food without a shout of truth is not what I was paid for is not what I was made for is not a promise I can keep without a dream … Continue reading Mayday! Mayday! by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko
The widow sits with her backto the wall,wets her memories in vainwith the last dropsof a tequila bottle. In the rooms above,it’s too hot to sleep,too hot to stay awake.A woman in paper taffetacounts bank notesonce, twice, three times,then tosses them at her dozing pimp.A truckload of menand yet it’s his fat body she feels,even now, atop hers. A young couple shares a cigaretteon the … Continue reading Desert Time by John Grey
My cell phone keeps me company It takes me everywhere It won’t leave home without me It’s glued to my left ear I’m really lost without it I don’t know who I am I hope to recognize me when we Zoom or video cam Ring just once and then hang up so I know just who you are If I don’t ring back right away you know you’ve gone too far Am I in or am … Continue reading Cell Phone by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko
ShavesHis Reed.Nice AndSmooth.HuffsSome Weed.He’s GotThe Groove.Got ItGood.GotIt Bad.BeatsHis Horn.MakesIt Mad.HitsThe Third.Then TheFlat. Gets The SoundAll NiceAnd Fat.Sets The Lights.NiceAnd Low.Daddy O.It’s TimeTo Blow.Clarion.Altissimo. Continue reading Daddy O by Charlie Robert
A mirror could tell youIf you bothered to listenWith an imaginative earIt is unresponsive to existential distressAnd may even react aggressivelyIf someone should ask: “who am I?”To an indifferent mirror Reduced to an outlineFilled with rotating question marksLike unidentified flying objectsLost in the immensity of spaceThey may question the mirrorWhy it erased themAnd if it doesn’t respondThey may decide to discard it Left on a … Continue reading Erased By a Mirror by John Tricarico
I know thirstI know it wellKnow it like the red burning skyI swallowed at the age of three the days I ran on empty the scorched cracked earth under my feet How I looked through window’s bottomless glasswaiting waiting waitingfor the miracle of rain Thirstas in riverbanks and riverbeds the beds of all my lovers that ran dry as inthe longing for that cool elixir to soothe the aching wound of a … Continue reading Thirst by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko
Though if I’d only known There was the last time I’d view you Through those old eyes of mineThen I’d have held gaze for longer.Though a double you may one day seeThat’s not me. Sorry (not sorry). Continue reading Doppelgänger by Scott Moncrieff
