Fish Kill

by Kristin Garth You were aware of mermaids in the sky,fenestrated fins swimming by since youare old enough to be outside alone. Whytheir pallor ash, collective moans imbuesfew fears of what was well known at daybreakseven years old. Magical was mundaneand manifold as silver rain in lakesabandoned by the dead. Mermaiden painschools overhead. Two innocent relatedinheritors of a haunting hate Read More

Paragraphiti On The Cusp Of Living With Olives

by Gerard Sarnat You walk into the room With your pencil in your hand You see somebody naked And you say, “Who is that man?” You try so hard But you don’t understand Just what you’ll say When you get home.– Bob Dylan, Ballad Of A Thin Man i. I don’t remember when The Pilgrim’spork pie hat & suit bobbed Read More

She Looks Exactly Like a Trap

by Kristin Garth Tendrils to tails, they circumnavigatea naked girl, bloom crowned, against tree trunkstoo late. Mermaiden ghosts tread air irate,retreat to appease queen’s dictates — swim, slunk, away, to wisdom pooled. They theorize,a spectral mermaid school, why would she sitin shivered fright, flesh sodden pink, unwise,unclothed, alone, midnight? It’s counterfeit coincidence — pretense of confidence,a doppelgänger of the dead, Read More

Let Him Know

by Kristin Garth She will not ask you to explain. Evenhalf women comprehend who is to blamefor plots where girls remove their clothes — reasonyou sit, alone, exposed in frigid shame, shuddering chest. She will approach you slowwith only one request — when he would kissthis poisoned neck, taste his death, let him knowthe cause was disrespect — damsels dismissed Read More

Palimpsest

by Lynne Cattafi The boozy neighbor who said it was timeto “get the hell outta Dodge” packed up his car and left,unsentimental.The bumper, flaked and rusted,the muffler backfiringin a final fuck you to the old neighborhood.What’s left behind?A small toy elephant lost years agogathers dust under the radiator.Deep scratches in the worn floor which served as a map,places to avoid Read More