By Robert Beveridge World creaksto a haltsterile inhabitantssicken and dieno one leftto bury themlie in the streetsmummifiedlast cousinstoo weak to move Robert Beveridge (he/him) makes noise (xterminal.bandcamp.com) and writes poetry on unceded Mingo land (Akron, OH). He published his first poem in a non-vanity/non-school publication in November 1988, and it's been all downhill since. Recent/upcoming … Continue reading Not with a Bang
To Become Someone
By Alex Andy Phuong The human identity Truly is a sight to behold,And given the realityOf the heart and the soul,It is up to every individual To become purely whole,So dare to uncover the mysteryWithin a world filled with beauty,And marvel at the majestyOf the wonder of splendorWithin a home like no other,And there really … Continue reading To Become Someone
Puddle Love
By Duane Anderson The weather change was a welcomed change,one from negative degrees to one of mid-sixtiescausing the snow to melt,the formation of puddles,and flowing streams into the streets,just what two little boys were waiting foras they rode their strider bike and peddle carthrough the water,loving every minute of it,not missing a single puddle of … Continue reading Puddle Love
Blue
By Nancy Stephan It’s the gloomy harvest goldthat swallows an entire houseon a hot boring summer daywhen your mom won’t get out of bedeven though it’s two in the afternoonand the square-faced fan has been blowingits hot breath across her face since nine last night.Never mind that you crossed Grant Streeton your bike and spent … Continue reading Blue
East of Midnight
By Benjamin Karren School’s eulogy crackles in trillium-laced mountain air—twenty fence posts down a dirt road, a cremationfor chemistry finals and college rejection letters,a black Camaro thrumming Stairway to Heavengasoline-drenched cliques ignited by graduation. My burned CDs and letterman jacket obsolete—we won’t be remembered after tomorrow.My scorched pep rally speech, charred saxophone solo,engulfed chess positions … Continue reading East of Midnight
Three Little Things
By Anna Seidman In my traditionThe world is sustained by three thingsTruth, justice and peaceBut if “truth” includes the infinite experiences, thoughts and realitiesOf every living thing“Justice” means eight billion conceptsOf right and wrongAnd “peace” is something we all believe in,Until it gets in the way of everything else we believe in,Then it doesn’t fit … Continue reading Three Little Things
Bayreuth
By Jack D. Harvey Bayreuth was published in pif, which ceased publication a couple of years ago. Bird Wagner'svast moaty throatsings bastions of eaglesup through thesmoky aether.Either he's mador me:one.Before the honest soundBrünhildcrashes intoheroic bric-a-brac;pukka Mercurycrowds abovethe storm of notes,landscapes of cymbalsand violins;the escarpments of Mosessmoke like chimneys,dwarfing the vast vaultfilled with themusic's life.Across the … Continue reading Bayreuth
A Parable as Sung to a Quasi-Existent God
By Earl Smith I sit on my twig – listening - watching. Below they sit beside the running stream, these two greatest of all men - musing, watching a wave waiting ever patiently for the rock that has blocked its way to finish its sedentary undertaking. “That wave, it moves yet not at all, how … Continue reading A Parable as Sung to a Quasi-Existent God
Evening Market
By J.S. O’Keefe dread pulsates through the evening market under dying neon lights strange men armor shimmering prowl throughtheir eyes are hidden behind mirrored visorstheir movements seem smooth almost clinical I want to study their facesare they chiseled cold sullen do they have their own hopes secrets sorrows suddenly I can see one of them … Continue reading Evening Market
Once Upon a Rhyme
By Tim Law Once upon a rhymeA robin built a nestIt flew around the worldUntil it realized home is bestOnce upon a rhymeA rocket launched at noonIt swam through a sea of starsBefore landing on the moonOnce upon a rhymeI met a happy clownHe made up a songI sang alongMy frown turned upside downOnce upon … Continue reading Once Upon a Rhyme
Academy of the Heart And Mind 