“A Very Boring Middle Finger,” by Ricki Hunsinger

I am startled
by a blaring honk
And I see-
a middle finger
spring up before me.
It made me want to
act on nothing.
It was the most boring middle finger
I have ever seen;
lacking in all passion and artistry.
(a Monster truck on valium.)
No more incredible
than a blade of grass
lifting back up
after being brushed down.
I am disappointingly unmoved,
like the night I walked [...]

“Poem for a Reputable Lit Mag,” by Megan Roth

A thin letter from the Likely Review sits in my mailbox.
I will use my scythe to exhume the letter from its holder.

In the mailbox, the envelope dozes atop a coupon
From Bed Bath and Beyond, a material image of sorts.

Above, the clouds are clouding around me.
This draws up existential questions, and

The smell of my mother’s lemon [...]

“A Rose Is,” by Li Min Hua

No, Sister Gertie,
A rose is a
flower is a
resurrection is an
erection is a
momento is an Is.
————
Li Min Hua is the author of 1,918 published poems and essays. He has edited special issues of College English and Margins. He has written three poetry volumes Sunspots (Lotus Press, Detroit, 1976) Midnight Lessons (Samisdat, 1987), and Lutibelle’s Pew (Dragon [...]