HOW I KEEP FIT – By John Grey The sidewalks in the city are like exercise equipment. There’s a mix of long strides on the cement treadmill and the shorter, quicker gait of the elliptical workout. A few stand at the street corner, stationary pedaling while waiting for the lights to change. Some hoist brown briefcase dumbbells. Others try the […]
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Sometime In April: The 1994 Rwandan Genocide The ancient grudge among the Rwandan clans Inflamed by the corruptive white swallows In April 94’ turned an indelible tale Etched on the bloody pages of Rwandan history The long gathering smog of apprehension Billowing in the Rwandan skies One haunting April, bade peace a bye The state head flying in […]
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GHOSTS I do not have a presence and she tells me she is a ghost. Substance has that kind of weight. You talk to the streams radiating from the edge of the river as if each one were a snake that fat and walk into an outer universe to draw the night with color, quick and simple, exactly like life […]
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Discourse He was the foam on the backwash of conversation, Repelled by the safety-pier; Seeming to crave a knife to answer The upward wave-choppings, He felt as if there were an invisible plastic partition Segmenting the round, globular flatness Of all within his view – A tank, cramping and inflexible To cramp that perfect essence. Blocks and straight lines […]
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Taming The Beast He found her frozen body on the path he took to prowl. Drawn to her sheer beauty, he dropped his kill and stood in awe. Captivating. Alluring. The sun shown on her diamond glinted face. frost covered and illuminating the dimming forest space. His beastly heart softened and a tear slid down his cheek. His eyes, […]
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DISAPPEARANCE 1. I considered the phoenix— into the fire, a quick release of gas, the efficacy of ash. But does one truly rise? Is it a spirit or a conscious recollection of the past? 2. Those who acknowledge nothing swim comfortably in the dark. The salt of their mother floats them. The mulch of their father awaits […]
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Poetry – Excerpts From ‘The POND Project’ (By John L. Stanizzi) These small poems are from a one-year-long project called POND — The poems are acrostics. Everyday, at different times during the day, I visit our pond with notebook and camera in hand. I jot down some notes, take a picture or two, if a good photo op. presents itself. Then […]
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HAILSTORM OF HELLFIRE One hour dissolves degradingly into the next And my eyes burn with dead sunlight and my own dusty misery As I wait in helpless spiritual poverty For whatever new hailstorm of hellfire Is next to knock on my door. My dignity has been taken. My children are being stolen. Each day my recovery takes more from me. […]
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“You swirl and take the strait past You swing those hips of yours Your eyes they hardly break a glimpse As you kiss with all you’ve got. You turn around to go one away Your hands they’re still on mine Your eyes look away with that glazed holdout Your hands are still on mine. You tell me never […]
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A Facility for the Poor and Demented Fred visits Bill every month at the facility he’s been in for years. Age and booze brought Bill there. He’s still strapped to his bed so he can’t go wandering again when he gets a taste for a beer. Bill calls Fred by name this time and asks if Jim has found a job. […]
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