Reincarnation (V4) Next life I will be a little higher up the pecking order. No longer a dishwasher at the House of Pancakes or Ricky’s All Day Grill, or Sunday night small dog thief. I will evolve into the Prince of Bullfrogs. Crickets don’t bother me. Swamp flies don’t bother me–I eat them. Alligators I avoid. I … Continue reading Poems by Michael Lee Johnson
PASCALE
By Bruce Hodder The rain was dripping from the winter trees in Pere Lachaise the day I found Pascale. Years before, she was my greatest crush, with those big sad eyes and all her hair piled up in front. Her high voice curled my toes. We talked a while. She asked how Paris was … Continue reading PASCALE
A rose and waste picker
By Sunil Sharma A rose blooms on a dump in Delhi It sways in the morning wind the way drunk girls sway and swear on the predatory Indian streets and restricted cultural zones to express happiness and freedom from stifling familial and patriarchal constraints In Mumbai and other metros on long Saturday nights. The morning light plays on the petals and … Continue reading A rose and waste picker
Sadness
By: Kelli J Gavin “When people ask me how I’m doing, I want to say, this sadness is the only clean shirt I have left and my washing machine has been broken for months.” Rudy Francisco I have been reading a lot of small chapbooks and collections of … Continue reading Sadness
ALLTHERAGE
BY: Kelli J Gavin FULLOFIT ME IAMFULLOFIT RAGETHATIS IDIDNOTKNOW UNTILHESAID YOUAREFULLOFIT FROMHEADTOTOE FULLOFFEAR FULLOFREGRET FULLOFJEALOUSY FULLOFRAGE FULLOFIT ME NOTPOPULAR NOTSOMETHINGCOOL NOTTHEINCROWD JUSTTHEPOSSESSOR IKEEPITALL ALLTHERAGE IAMFULLOFIT IAMGIVINGITBACK IDONOTWANTIT RAGEISNOTFORME NOTNEEDED DOESNOTHINGFORME MAKESMESICK ADDSLINESTOMYEYES ALLTHATRAGE GIFTEDTOME FORTHEASKING ALLTHATRAGE COULDHAVERUINEDME RIDDINGMYSELFTODAY NOLONGERFULLOFIT Bio- Kelli Gavin lives in Carver, Minnesota with Josh, … Continue reading ALLTHERAGE
The Booth in the Corner in the Back
By: Kelli J Gavin When you sit in the back of restaurant you see more than you would think. I asked the young host for a booth or table in the back. We walked past the bar and past 8 more tables to the perfect booth facing out towards the rest of the tables. With … Continue reading The Booth in the Corner in the Back
More In Common Than Not
By: Kelli J Gavin When I admire the rolling hills, you believe they are only more mountains to climb. When I am inspired by a new challenge, you are overwhelmed by the simple aspects of each day. When your heart becomes heavy and your breathing labored, take a deep breath, … Continue reading More In Common Than Not
Song of Songs
By Marvel Pephel Nneka is not dead, but she wishes she was. What she has just seen is unbearable. What life is doing to her, she thinks, is not fair. She wants to die, but she won't. She wishes she wasn't callous. *** Light rises on Chekwube, a young chubby girl with … Continue reading Song of Songs
Ornamental Grasses
By Kelli J Gavin When I was a child, we didn’t travel very often. I didn’t even board a plane until I was 11 years old. We would go to cabins in the woods for a couple nights or so, but they were always within a few hours of home. My dad and mom worked very … Continue reading Ornamental Grasses
There is So Much Pain
By James Diaz i think of you as one precious book removed from a shelf and misplaced for years you are the thing that cannot be found I root around in all of my dark corners for you I am a bringer of what if's to understand suffering, one must - there's no way around … Continue reading There is So Much Pain
Academy of the Heart And Mind 