MISS JULIE-ANNE – By John Grey She pours drops of whiskey on the withered rose petals. Then wields the hose with a cigarette flopping from her lower lip. What doesn’t intoxicate her flowers, she drinks. Ashes fall onto the buds. The bees will have to suffer for their pollination. She passes the graves of all her cats, apologizes […]
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In Good Company Hurt for the first time again, they swear to live, seeking protection in the indelible mirror; yet they stare in hope of freezing the image they hope all will see. Broken anew, birthing twins to the old scars, finding a smile in a figure of fragile wax, they must, and know to stay away from […]
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The snowman doesn’t know why the reasons are balanced perfectly by feelings. He was dealing last week with a snowstorm wondering how many snowflakes could fall. The snowman thinks of the pure joy of being alive. Now, the rain comes down in trickles to melt the snow, and he wants to let all the weight of fall to the […]
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The following is a collection of poems about Vietnam veterans and how their lives were forever changed by the horrific effects of the herbicidal warfare compound known as Agent Orange. A Life Without Guard Rails You think you got problems? You probably do but would you trade with Phillip, a Vietnam vet who still thinks Agent Orange lurks in every puddle […]
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Lore Knowledge, as a dish of elusive ice-cubes Floating in acid Touching each one, propels its elusiveness; The mediation of the utensil cannot be avoided. Acid me, hand me, cube me; Cuddling smudges, polychromatic pollution, Knowledge spectrum. He must make a memory of solid metal, So that it cannot be penetrated by knowledge, So that the […]
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HIS GREAT DAY Turns out I was the great man after all. Otherwise, why the suits. Why the priest taking time out of his busy day to eulogize me. And look at those tears. To think I lived all of these unwept years figuring maybe some people were born without ducts. And they’re hugging each other. For me, the warring […]
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Feral I bend in mourning bending to the loss of someone so familiar – your nurture-needing eyes and a temperament of molten lava whose tone was innocent and unrefined. I see you now in the doorway, flat and tensing but never moving, then at ease with me as a soft sigh overcomes you. Born in a tight spot […]
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Speakfeel Razor branches, pointed-forked roots stretch centrifugal jabs against middle surface Sources swallowed in the lightless void Cancelled fugitives incubated in pure motion, rejecting sides, all allowed Only restored through leaves and petals avid for translucency Shining to meet the beak and proboscis, clumsy, assured Seaweed swelters for the dark answer, shimmering clasps from knuckle-protectors, Ricocheting nadir curls of […]
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Hartwell Lake Across the street from the lake house there is a bait shop. I go there to get gasoline for the boat. I can see the green swells, that slowly turn to navy. The wind forgets the clouds like the ones I forget. The sun is on my shoulders, as far as the wake I leave behind. Blue sky […]
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OF VOLCANIC ORIGIN? Was Frankenstein conceived, As many have believed, Of melancholy from A summer without sun? When gathered at the shore Of Lake Geneva four Of future Gothic fame, Did lightning spark their flame? The summer skies were dark, Unnatural the stark Of landscape Swiss in June. Prevailing mood was gloom. For just one […]
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