Hard Rule Enclosing

by Michael Igoe Swindled by awetaken from othersit held me fromsaved, raptured momentsIt’s frolic, a panic;the count of blood dropsin the heave of the gut.It reaps a cryptic fortuneunleashed, in vast array,makes a deal like madwith uninvited guests.Unsure, motive grows clearerin the twilight of my lifetimeI someday must clear out.My secret battle with time,Does it freeze within me? Michael Igoe, Read More

Plane Takes Off from Chicago

by Thomas Murray Plane takes off from Chicago; touches down in Orange County.One with a young man; the other with another, bald and gray.In between many worlds, lives, and dreams passed by.Bound to a god I can never see, but sure I feel It with me. Going from the Gobi to the 405 is a full-time job.My thoughts like winter Read More

fragmented no. 8

by DAH 1. … from now on, a reshuffling of diction,word-acrobatics, perspectives gleaming withnew realities: somebody built an orange treeagainst the other things around it, to feaston boiled eggs in the cold hand of a plate,the convulsions of the world can only goso far: it’s a matter of course … … regression is a retelling of history, mind-formsthat are slipping: Read More

Goodbye to This and That

by Constance Woodring I am old. Thank God. I will be dying soon. Thank God.I made shrimp cocktail this evening. The shrimp were frozen, cooked and in a bag marked:“no chemicals added.”As I write this poem, I still have a taste in my mouth. As if I made swimming pool water shrimp dip.I do not have children. I do not Read More