cocaine
when we’re done having sex, he asks me to blow his cousin in the adjoining room…
greyhound racing life of a side piece
.
ice cube tray
two bottles of vodka
four bottles of beer
a few eggs
a bottle of mustard
filling up on emptiness someone’s leftovers
Robin Smith
Dear Citizen in Violation (CIV),
You have received this OPR notice as a result of a complaint filed by the Minister of Perpetual Admiration (MPA). He has provided us with screen captures that indicate you are in clear violation of CODE #336-/1. Namely, you have posted online material in defiance of the recent decree regarding The Czar of Everything (CZAR).
Additionally, we have in our possession multiple YouTube videos in which you impersonate The Czar of Everything. All those who impersonate The Czar of Everything, who continually repeat his name mockingly, are subject to severe reprimand, so The Czar of Everything has decreed.
You will be visited by two Officers of Redaction (OR). They will assist or complete your Departure.
The loyal staff of The Czar of Everything thanks you for your past patriotism.
Sincerely,
The Minister of Professional Responsibility (MPR)
island retreat
native birds outnumbered
by egg-eaters
Peter Newton
some people leave you in odd ways. they just disappear from your life. like that.
irish dirge
the absence of malice
of an owl
Michael Rehling
Subway Window
The best time I had was when I forgot myself. I don’t know why I ever came back.
the subway car window
shows only darkness . . .
and my reflection
.
Dervish
I can’t figure out if mysticism is ecstatic or a sham. I go between Sufi dancing and wanting fame. Not everyone can sleep in the sand.
emptier
than emptiness:
our first name
.
Idealism
I have never been on hard drugs, but it seems like I am. The cacophony of conversations in the cafe melds into my thought process and my mental silence. I thought I was high on meditation this morning, but I guess coffee can cut through inner calm, despite our idealism.
rain or snow?
I remove myself
from myself
Nicholas Klacsanzky
Ballistic Gravitas
Amelia’s bones say nothing as air raid sirens wail.
noon sun
the frigate bird nabs
a flying fish
.
Crude
unmixed oil slicks press against dolphin skin
fall leaves…
a plastic bag gapes
wide as Texas
Theresa A. Cancro
She is a student of economics at the Saint Petersburg university, Russia. Without knowing why, we talk about the global economic crisis. She says that’s a serious situation but it seems like all the investors in her country and in the rest of the world are just waiting … “waiting for what?” I ask. “The next big thing to get out of this situation” she says.
economic slump
a manager calls
for his horoscope
Andrea Cecon
Blackout
Two, tonight.
white pills
the snow falls
in me
.
Cut & Paste
Every once in a while, I forget I’m steering the ship that is my body.
into nothingness
the clouds
the clouds
.
Nocturne
Yet again, the arms of insomnia hold me awake.
darkness
but only if
you listen
Tiffany Shawn-Diaz
Dark night
yellow squares flicker
through bare trees,
the sound of a tornado
on cold steel,
the scream from nowhere,
a flashing red bumblebee light moves across the sky,
flatlined—
Sunday matinee—
buttered popcorn &
an empty box of Milk Duds
Susan Beth Furst
Entering, I contemplate the horseshoes on the doors … and if he had invited me only to ward off the misfortune that brings with it being in thirteen at the table?
autumn wind –
we pronounce words
without weighing them
Antonietta Losito
I’m in bed with migraine and my mother already thinks about the signs of the cross, the secret formulas, the Ave Maria, the saucer with water, oil and salt.
the first warm –
still problems
of sinusitis
Antonietta Losito
Note: The Affascino is a spell which an envious person casts upon his or her victim. Less serious effects are headaches, drowsiness,apparently incomprehensible illnesses.The ritual (sfascinatura) to dissolve the evil eye ( il malocchio) is secret and can only be handed down to three people in the course of life. It is different according to the geographical area of south Italy (Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria…
the other bunny 