Poetry
“The Paper Mite,” by Casey FitzSimons
No friend to authors,
the paper mite,
devouring libraries
with librarians in sight.
I’ll squish any with my thumbnail
that trample on my words
and lest he be remembered,
on a period, obscured.
————
Casey FitzSimons is an over-educated, under-published artist and writer. Her father was a Milton scholar and she has yet to walk it off.
Four Poems by Mark Cunningham
[specimen]
I couldn’t read my intervention on how hegemonic ideology physically changes the way people see the world until I put on my new glasses with the thick black ear pieces that are all the rage now. I started to see things as if I were a point-of-view shot in a movie, so I knew I [...]
Two Poems by Doug Draime
first love
he called
at 4 in the
morning
crying into
the phone
telling me
she’d left
him and
asking for
my advice.
i told him
to take a
nice hot bath,
clean his
apartment
of all her things,
listen to some
jazz (Miles Davis
if he had any),
take the phone off
the hook, lock
his door, fix himself
something to eat, &
go the fuck
back to bed.
Budget Meeting
I put in a comma
break the 4 lines
into 2 stanzas,
while [...]
Two Poems by Paul Hellweg
It’s A Lifestyle
A dear friend
was missing two Netflix movies,
she looked everywhere
on the computer table
the television stand
bookshelves
cutting table,
sorted through stacks of
books
magazines
papers
fabric,
finally gave up in despair,
wondering what
the replacement cost would be,
she told me all about it at lunch,
later that day
when she called to tell me
they’d just arrived in the mail,
I couldn’t find the phone.
Baroque Osmosis
I’ve written elsewhere
about [...]
“I Went to Psychotherapy and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt,” by Joelle Renstrom
I go to therapy wearing my green and white military tank top that says: “my bush would make a better president.”
My therapist sits in a modest desk chair and I slide into a black leather recliner. It’s a nouveau version of the therapy couch. Sweat gathers behind my knees, itching and sticking against the leather. [...]
Two Poems by Ann Howells
WOLF RESPONDS TO REVIEWS OF AN OFF-BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF RED
RIDING HOOD
It’s ridiculous, an actor of my stature
appearing off-Broadway, but they lost their lead-
mugging or something-just prior to opening. My name
lends credence to a new company, new production.
We do that in theater. My name is synonymous
with the role, you know; I’ve [...]
Two Poems by Paul Hellweg
Finally, Hope
Lonely
and wishing for a miracle,
it finally came
in the form
of an e-mail
from a 24-year-old woman
with 8.5 million dollars
who offered to
move in with me
if I would help her
transfer the funds
to this country,
and
all I had to do
to get the money
and the babe
was to be
a little more
gullible
than
I already am.
You’ve Got Mail
are words full of life
and hope and
approbation,
alas,
No New [...]
“I Kept the Nickel,” by Lauren Becker
I kept the address labels. The nickel, too.
The night of the day I used the first label, I dreamed of starving
orphaned children with distended stomachs. They told me I should have
sent the nickel back, along with a generous check and a stamp to save
the charity the cost of postage. I ignored the children and returned
to my [...]
Four Poems by Mr. Smith
Fireworks
I ended it on the fourth of July
But still she cried and threw things at me.
That’s the trouble with American girls:
They don’t ‘do’ Irony.
Thunder
If I’m lying, she said, may the ground open up and swallow me.
And as the words left her lips a sound like thunder filled the air.
It was only a passing motorcycle
But Christ, [...]
“GuacamOde,” by Clay Carpenter
How I love guacamole salad
this murky mucky marvel
to eat is to imbibe
Great green gobs of avocado
add onions to create
a dubious delight
Admittedly it is the ugliest
of foods in name
and in appearance
The ignorant may hesitate
to part their lips and
give it clearance
But those who know will swear
that it quite simply
can ’t be beaten
although it begs the question:
is it to [...]
