Al Maginnes: God in Retirement
A little more wine before the sisters
of the scarlet moon perform their ritual
dance again.
Abayomi Animashaun: History Lesson
On the wall is a map of places, the so-called explorers
— Mungo Park and the rest of them —
Discovered. But did they know
Of my longing to kiss you tonight?
Abby Zimet: Honestly? Our Actual Government Is A Barking Mad Supreme Court That Gives Zero Fucks About Democracy
A mere month after the medieval anti-abortion ruling by a cabal of right-wing “fanatics and vandals” we still call SCOTUS, its effects are already cataclysmic.
Abby Zimet: Honorable (Sic) Frat Boy Bullied By People Insisting On Their Rights
There is little if any recourse to halt the brazen taking-away-of-rights now emblematic of a right-wing judicial coup masquerading as the highest court in the land…
Bill Knott: A Sudden Departure
A sudden raisinstorm broke
Raisins falling everywhere pellmell.
The occasion uniqued my head, I thought
If this can happen raisins raining
Upon persons paining why I can leave anytime
Without feeling shame
George Witte: After the Recent Unpleasantness
it wouldn’t kill you to consider
dancing, just this once, alone
in backyard secrecy while dawn
arrays dishevelled underclothes
Michael Simms: Puppy Rolling
When I take Josie to the dog park she likes to find a puppy, preferably a rare breed like a Shiba Inu or a New Guinea Singing Dog and roll it down the hill.
Video: Chico Marx Plays Beer Barrel Polka (from A Night in Casablanca, 1946)
Leonard Joseph “Chico” Marx (1887 – 1961) was an American comedian, actor and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, alongside his familial brothers Adolph (“Harpo”), Julius (“Groucho”), Milton (“Gummo”) and Herbert (“Zeppo”). His persona in the act … Continue reading
Gerry LaFemina: A Slight Misunderstanding
What I heard was that she was interested
in accidents, so I envisioned those frozen moments
(perhaps only milliseconds), the liminal frames
when we realize an event is unavoidable
Linda Nemec Foster: Sean Penn Leaves Ukraine for Safety in Poland
Once, I visited a cemetery there, on the border between Poland
and Ukraine. Stark and beautiful. Green and calm. No dead
man walking there. Not even ghosts. Only the long lines
of graves and rusting crucifixes nailed to trees.
Bill Knott: Sonnet
The way the world is not
astonished at you
it doesn’t blink a leaf
when we step from the house
T. R. Hummer: Think
It’s impossible sometimes to make your way
through the undergrowth—think of Desoto,
Think of Cabeza de Vaca hacking down briars
Video: The Opposites Game
An English teacher asks his class: ‘What’s the opposite of a gun?’
Stephen Dobyns: Can Poetry Matter?
Heart feels the time has come to compose lyric poetry.
No more storytelling for him. Oh, Moon, Heart writes,
sad wafer of the heart’s distress. And then: Oh, Moon,
bright cracker of the heart’s pleasure.
