by Juliet Cook and j/j hastain Everyone decomposes in the end,so you might as well turn yourself into a tree with leaves that will dropin different directions. Skinny, malformedbranches that will break. One dark redleaf might transform into a wing. Then you can fly to heaven orsome other skyward plaza.You can grow an above ground gardenbrimming with skyrocketing beeswho don’t Read More
Category: Rumbling Rhymes
To the doe, rotting
by Tianna G. Hansen your ribs are bare on your chest cavitywhere I imagine your heart was homed is that what the vultures consumed first?the vital organ that once pumped blood through your leaping body, long legs kickup in joy, in life. you must not have seen that death machine hurtling toward youbefore it was too late, and you became Read More
Relevant Elephant
by Pax Morrigan Picture yourself on a steppe cast in starlight withElephants gathering round the bone pitSaying goodbye to old matriarch Amba whoLed them courageously, brimming with grit Time repossesses her pachyderm carapaceTaking the ele and letting the phantOut of the bag to rove omnidirectionalHaunting all continents, ghost gallivant Waltzing through air on a jumbo safari sheArdently travels on slipstreams Read More
Ludicrocity
by Guy Elston A child is prostrate, head on the grass,wailing in an all-consumed fury.His parents stand over him at the edgeof the public golf course wheredogs get walked, his dad holding a knotted plastic bag lump, his Mum a Gucci handbag.They make no attempt to halt his cacophony.Other walkers titter at the sightof the hysterics and the silent resignation.I Read More
Then I’ll Sing
by Ellen Huang response to a classroom poem titled “Stop Talking” The Sea Witch told me speech was uselessSharp and blunt words alike cause woundsThe Blue Fairy told me it’s quite hard to be realPuppetry, trickery leads down to ruin The Emperor told me they’ll see right through meWe all dress things up for a reasonThe Genie told me better Read More
Elegy For The Leaves
by Mir-Yashar Seyedbagheri Leaves dance, flame and golden symphony in the chilling October skies, dancing with the grace of a ballerina, which she once was. She wanders the hills and curves alone, a lone lady in lavender, strolling rugged paths, streams drying up, meandering toward their dry death. Tree branches lean like skeletons, the rain beginning its late autumnal descent. Read More
At Elephants World, near Kanchanaburi
by Randel McCraw Helms In Thailand, aged, blinded elephants transportAt the piano of volunteer Paul Barton,Whose love of animals and music willAlter your saddened heart. At a sanctuaryFor abused and damaged working elephantsHe has placed an old upright in a meadow.When he plays her favorite Beethoven, Lam Duan(“Yellow-Flowered Tree”), her crusted eyes streaming,Will slowly pace from the bush, trunk tip Read More
All Poets Have an Alpha & Omega Poem: Here’s Mine
by John Dorroh Let me see the speckled trout that droppedinto your lap. The lemon butter sauce splayed out on your dress, two capers for eyes, swimmingup into the mysterious channel. Fish has to be preparedjust right, and most of the time it’s not. Professionalchefs tell us that it’s easy. It’s like driving to Bumfuck,Florida. It’s easy only if you’ve Read More
The White Elephant
by Norman Klein My worst nightmare, JG’svisiting her sick mother,leaving me nothing buther white elephantto keep me company. Last night there he was alive,sitting in her chair, eating herpretzels, smoking her smokes,turning sullen and telling me,his life is flat out misery. He watches me burn spaghettiin a pot, spill napkins on the floor,and after sampling a meatballgets down on his Read More
Coffeeshop Alias
by Ellen Huang She comes in with black-framed glasses to see the menubut takes them off briefly for a flicker of posed reflection. She may come with black tee,bright characters, cheap amulet from Amazon& overstuffed Ugly Duckling tote bag. She may take extra time staring like a psychic,but the menu she’s choosing from seems to be something improvised in the Read More