The monk makes it all look plausible. His beatific smile is in itself an aspiration.

butterflies between the brows stillness darts

The mind makes notes of all the things that need letting go.

After five days, realisation dawns. Clinging looks appealing. Nirvana is best in small doses.

And anyway, from what he says, we all probably have a zillion lives before we can levitate.

morphine shots
halos behind
every tree

 

Shobhana Kumar

New Year’s Eve. Scanning the ether for something beyond
another decade’s weight in fireworks.

telescope poised
lest Betelgeuse croak
700 years before us

Helen Buckingham

Last night, you dreamt that seven of your ten well-tended fingernails had fallen out. Completely. Painlessly, for you no longer have the capacity to experience your own hurt. The soft tissues shiny without protection, yet soon to dry with exposure to air. Come morning, after checking your hands in the sunlight pouring through the slats of the bedroom blinds, you claw the tattered Dream Bible from the shelf, flipping through the pages until you come upon the appropriate entry. And swear you will never let this happen again.

parlor game
a four-letter word
for goodbye

Kelly Sauvage Angel

I was called for a consultation in an intensive care unit. I visit the patient, I prescribe analysis and I say that I will return to re-evaluate tomorrow. I’ll be back if the patient is still there.

shop –
the flowers
all sold

Antonio Mangiameli