Roads | Ananya S. Guha
Roads are tarred
sunburnt, sullied with blood,
their living trauma is no episode, I have spent time on these roads
which when despoiled
bear fangs like those roaring floods in turmoil, wreaking havoc.
a poem
A Poet's Sorrow | Amanda Shelton
These days are gloomy,
My pain ruminates from my mood.
Slowly I can see light peeking out from behind the clouds in my mind.
As my sky starts to turn from gray to pink.
My sorrows begin to fade into day.
All the gray begins to melt away.
The ink from my pen takes all my sorrows away.
The Man in the Moon | Michael Kagan
When we met
Staring directly at my scars of chaos
She said
If we can’t find the man in the moon
We’ll be unable to find our true face
She’s curled up like a kitten
Wearing her soft blue pajamas
I have finished writing a poem
Wading through raw sewage
Trying to find the beauty
In the stink of it all
I know it must be there
As I read to her she begins dancing
With the the sway of my inflection
Moving in a way
That understands my motivation
In a way
That oils my creaking bones
In a way
That brings tears to my eyes
To be loved for my creative issue
Emerging from the darkness
Of my secret places
These little celebrations
Infuse sunshine into a solid gray heart
I finish reading and hold her gently
We dance in the beautiful silence
Of a soft afterglow
She re-curls in her soft blues
I curl up with her too
looking out the window
At the man in the moon
Psychosomatic | Angelica Fuse
I am body
made up
of mind
a fictional
tissue
created
from idea
a reflex
of
emotion.
Digi-Tell 1997 | Denny E. Marshall
In five years or so
All there’ll be is digital TV
The old television signal
It will not receive
For a half dozen years
The old signal will be on
Then digital will take over
The old signal will be gone
Chalk it up to progress
Though don’t you understand
Your life won’t be private
It will be a two-way scan
Every sin moral or illegal
Will be recorded on tape
Our privacy violated
Only the rich will escape
No one will know what happened
Or how they were caught
The key to the plan
No one discovers the plot
All TVs and computers
Will be able to tell
You’re every little move
In digi-Hell
More at http://www.dennymarshall.com/.
Breaking News (Version #2) | Denny E. Marshall
Breaking news interrupts the show
Reports the landing of a UFO
The sounds of sirens continually blow
Breaking news interrupts the show
Static interference starting to grow
Hear skips in the voice on the radio
Breaking news interrupts the show
Reports the landing of a UFO
More at http://www.dennymarshall.com/.
The Kitchen Table | Denny E. Marshall
Wooden and round
Shined with work
Polished with love
A small satellite
Four chairs
Individual moons
All revolving
Around one
More at http://www.dennymarshall.com/.
The Long Way Home | Stan Morrison
when my mind is free-floating
I always take the long way home
the route secures a path for itself
disclosing what’s on my mind
the long way is a method for discovery
an interval to unravel the knotted twine
most of the time.
Gratuity | Carolyn Martin
The cabby’s black eyes bounce
between the car-clogged street
and his rearview.
My family? In Palestine?
Are they all right?
Chopped to bits,
my question hangs between
his swaying beads and me.
See what I have seen,
his eyes grip mine.
Grandfather – in his hut.
My father – in our yard.
An uncle – on the road.
One shot. One shot. One shot.
Soldiers laugh. Children cry.
How can we be all right?
All I wanted was a Yes.
A chat about
the desert’s hot and cold,
a father herding goats,
a mother raising bread and sons.
I wanted pleasantries
to pass the time.
Not the cruel thrift of war.
A thousand lights turn green
before the practicality
of luggage, tickets, fare.
Port of Authority, he smiles,
unwinding from the driver’s seat.
I fumble through my wallet’s folds
and double his gratuity –
admitting only to myself,
I should not ask
until I want to know.
How's the World Treating You | Natalie Bentley
How is the grand mad
world treating you today?
Have you been invited
to its tea?
Will you sit down
and drink from the cup
that is sweet
bitter
or a little bit of both?