by Wanda Morrow Clevenger when girls my sister and I were made to scratch her back and her head until our fingers came away oily she said it was nerves from raising 4 girls alone a doctor told her to take a glass of wine at night to relax but her faith … Continue reading Her Way
high in the sky
by Wanda Morrow Clevenger my card arrived at last so we stopped in at the pot dispensary hippy music they used to call it teemed March Madness screeched silently on the big screen water and coffee around the corner and free snacks in a basket after keying me in the associate … Continue reading high in the sky
Standard Issue
by Wanda Morrow Clevenger we weren’t friends or enemies standard issue mother and daughter five decades passed before she revealed anything remotely personal hoping perhaps I’d make record even though she had said she didn’t read the poems
Marching Band Parades
By Ryan Quinn Flanagan rain made my day marching band parades child on shoulder points tossed baton accolades stores open late clouds in the harbour courthouse colonnades waving shopkeeper bedtime story rain child under blanket sleeps boats in the harbour sway marching band parades. Ryan Quinn Flanagan is a … Continue reading Marching Band Parades
Chinook
BY Ryan Quinn Flanagan is that cardboard? is that D.B. Copper on performance enhancing drugs? I could skin a snake with chopsticks while listening to Nancy Sinatra, that is not what I wish to do, but what must be done the sole difference being one of want: what I want, you ask? a cart full … Continue reading Chinook
Awkward Face
By Ryan Quinn Flanagan She tells me I am making my awkward face again and I tell her that is just my face. I told you it would stay that way, she chides. Didn’t I tell you? I run to the bathroom mirror and examine my face. It is just my normal … Continue reading Awkward Face
In the Black
By Ryan Quinn Flanagan The mind stays in the black and the body follows. The confusion of rush hour roundabouts cleared up in a way I could not explain to you five minutes ago. Things are fluid. The stairwell is a shipping crate that dabs stretched limousines out of their length. I … Continue reading In the Black
Breathe In, Breathe Out
By Jessica Ricks Breathe In, Breathe Out Everything stops. Shaking hands, heart palpitations Throat tightens, There is someone standing on my chest Weighing me down. I am falling through space, accelerating, The world is a haze. My breath is stuck, oxygen deprived Concentration long gone. Breathe in, breathe out. Time freezes. Suddenly … Continue reading Breathe In, Breathe Out
“Ithaca” (Haiku 196-203)
By Thomas Page A father and son, Telemachus and The lost Odysseus Penelope’s basket and Sisyphus’ rock; Both always undone Dyed-blue bearded god, Brother heavenly thundered, Mimics by shaking Homer’s xenia, Custom hospitality, Stories and cyclops Boiling marrow Dry from bones, fear slowly cooks Courage from strong legs The eagle and geese War in Penelope’s … Continue reading “Ithaca” (Haiku 196-203)
“Poésie D’Hiver” (Haiku 189-195)
By Thomas Page Am I limited To what I can know? Modern Scholar, future fool? Gray-white wildcat Who loves my garbage Hiding in the urban woods Can I string these pearls— Random passing thoughts— Into beautiful jewelry? A recursive clock Continuously chimes at Intervals sixty Paradise by the Sea is sweeter when you’re in Cold … Continue reading “Poésie D’Hiver” (Haiku 189-195)
Academy of the Heart And Mind 