Heave of waves rushing toward shore, vast pulse of the sea, thickening, as mermaids hiss and murmur and seaweeds strangle themselves. Body of water, stupendous oceanic heft suspending me above my desire to drown here among broken shells. Massiveness lifting me beyond my day’s moments, those shattered bits of time devastated by Life. Author Bio: Austin Alexis […]
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Carnival That peacock opulence, Swarming on strutting grime; That massed ecstasy, squeezing itself, Short-breathed, near suffocation; That sound-abandonment, seeming to plunge To deafness’s peace; Yet keeping those maimed faculties alive, Ever denying their last fulfilment. Maybe it’s only I and it, I, starting in the middle And it, commensurate with my idea Of my own size? Maybe I […]
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Dead, a Viking walked over the Rainbow Bridge. If he (and it always seemed to be a he) died in battle, then he had a 50% chance of going to Valhalla, ruled by Odin, for drinks. The other half went to Freya’s Field. I’d have liked the field. After an hour of snow followed by summerish sunshine, my partner […]
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Young Priest, Old Priest Everyone in the neighborhood was surprised when Bill McIntyre entered the seminary to study for the priesthood. He had been dating girls since early in high school and had been engaged since graduating from college to a lovely young lady. He often spoke about wanting to have a big family since he himself had been […]
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Why Are the Dead So Still – By Fern G. Z. Carr Arms crossed, lying motionless in an open casket, he gazes upward through closed eyelids. Maybe if I look hard enough I’ll see him flinch or wriggle his nose at the acrid smell of incense rising from the censer; holy water is sprinkled on his body – it […]
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NEVER TO WANDER Hell smoke has gone to rest And gradually I condense Like caged cloud in a fist of steel Bubbling in a helpless circumference The rope to winch is strained to shreds But in my sleeping wings Am sure to find Healing capsules for my nasopharyngitis Bang I cry Please heed the call Kindly enclose me in Else […]
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CLICHÉD Beggars can’t be choosers, For there is no choice for losers, And as paupers we must stand with open hand. Seeing is believing, But can also be deceiving When you’re grieving that you’re down and out again. Cruising for a bruising, If you’re thin-skinned, makes excusing Your intrusions not so simple of a chore. Striking while […]
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SMALL BEFORE THE SEA We have only pictures, A journal and rubble From what was a fixture To keep ships from trouble. A lighthouse, built sturdy, On Unimak island Around 1940, With Coast Guard as client. Five Guardsmen were manning The station that morning, Both horn and beam spanning The sea with their warning. At […]
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LEONID (By Joseph Cavera) the soul lays here in this grim place demons rear I can’t stand the pace this Mad mien dampens the soul perhaps the cause of this pandemic hole and although juts through the tailpipe of every last jenny and john uncertainty of right- and wrong they cannot feel anything like this not now, […]
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Sarah makes sandwiches all day, piling meat and trimmings high on pillowy bread she spreads apart before her customers’ eyes. Hardworking men love her sandwiches and sometimes date her after work but none so far has mentioned marriage. This confuses Sarah who’s as open as her bread in satisfying men. That’s not too wise, says Ethel, a granny clone Sarah chats with after lunch-hour […]
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