Poetry

Poem – Checkpoint (By David Russell)

Checkpoint Lurching, they bluster – ghouls into the chasm. Fierce lava, blowing, nullifies their fall And dissipates harsh gravity’s concussion, Forces a seething screen of phoenix cowardice, Leaping to swell Into a fresh, mendacious crust, Tripping and throttling the led ...

Poem – Manhattan Landlord (By Gary Beck)

Manhattan Landlord I ran a swell restaurant for many years on a good block in Manhattan. I wasn’t rich, but made a good living, paid my workers well so they were happy and passed it on to customers. Then my ...

Poem – OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS (By Ray Gallucci)

OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS Although there was no Noah Or Gilgamesh around, No blast like Krakatoa To deafen with its sound, The Ocean of the Indies Awakened from its sleep When scarp off Indonesia Collapsed in Sunda Deep. The nine-o quake ...

Poetry – In Williamsburg (By Ray Gallucci)

IN WILLIAMSBURG In Williamsburg we learn How freedom ours was earned, At least for lucky born Of alabaster skin. Their independence claimed By declaration famed That Founding Fathers framed, Though was still had to win. But if from continent Of ...

Poem – Rear View Mirror (By Mary Bone)

Rear View Mirror Basking on the beaches of the Amalfi Coast I left the world behind, in southern Italy. It was so unique and exclusive. I was glad to see the dust fly in my rear view mirror ...

Poem – In Crowd (By JD DeHart)

In Crowd I discover in myself this startling desire to fit in. As if I am some teenager in an afterschool special or training video.  Listen, honey, don’t worry about those other kids. I am now looking for a new ...

Poem – Just a toy though the string… (By Simon Perchik)

Just a toy though the string is still afraid, tied as if inside a weightlessness is pulling it closer and closer and can't let go caged in on all sides by the color blue and emptiness --a trapped balloon, banded ...

Poem – Sunday Thoughts on a Saturday (By Valentina Cano)

The was an upside down bowl drying on the counter, and I was trapped beneath it, trying to find an edge to pry the whole thing up and slip away. Bio: Valentina Cano is a student of classical singing who ...

Poem – All I Had Was Gone (By R.T. Castleberry)

I take a 12 month chip, a copy of The Iceman Cometh, drape myself in Union blue, cultivate a salesman’s grinning grip. A Valley trip lies ahead, road miles registered in a company car. Spring becoming summer, there’s a ghost ...
Photo Credit: Suffocatingby JolsAriella

Playgroup Politics

There is something deeply suffocating about life today in the prosperous west. Bourgeoisification, the suburbanisation of the soul, proceeds at an unnerving pace. Tyranny becomes docile and subservient, and soft totalitarianism prevails, as obsequious as a wine waiter. Nothing is ...