Poem – Queens (By Michael P. Kusen)
A Portrait of Wilbur Just as one poet once wrote about a last duchess, so did the poet write about the first Wilbur. The brown clothing, smell of moth balls, scent of age of rows of books that Wilbur rested within. You have to wonder – did he read all those books, are they in progress, or are they simply […]
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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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A Puzzling Marriage Married 60 years Fred and Daisy still are very different people. All day long they hide their differences to make their marriage last but every night after supper they let them out silently. Fred in his recliner works a crossword puzzle while Daisy in the dining room works a jigsaw puzzle but neither Fred nor Daisy speaks a word until one has finished and howls […]
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THE ESTHETICS OF SELF Against the horizon, you must always consider three skies: the one you see, the one you think about, and the one that’s really there. Our illusions falter on an edge we prefer to imagine, a definition beyond sight. But the eye has no horizon, the mind no extension beyond itself. […]
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On the tips of our fingers Is playing, the spring Hide and seek With colors! But beneath our feet No lush green grass, Only poisonous shrubs. From the mouth of desires Uttered rain drops pattering And, in our brains Bright red fire! With wings widely spread Dancing, black owl the angel of death The future though uncertain, […]
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Heartless at the Checkout Line “I’d never take my anger out on you,” she said, when I remarked she looked so piqued I had the inclination to skidoo. As someone who desired her, I freaked out at the dewdrops missing from her ears, the stern configuration of her lips, her strident voice and mortifying leers. Since these impediments did not […]
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With Respect to the Whale Oh, man – foul carnivore! Gorging beyond all need for sustenance, Gorging beyond even your body’s bounds! And is this a fixation on your prey, A lust for prey-communion? Willing your own, final annihilation By turning into quarry That great, that fine, that more than any beast; Sea-mammal – in its form a synthesis of […]
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The Fire Animal AS WE CONFLAGRATE OUR NEW PASTURES AND EXPECT THEM STILL TO FLOURISH AS WE BREATHE IN THE SMOKE INHALE AND EXPECT A BILLOW TO BLOW OUT AS WE COUGH OUT THE BLOOD OF LIFE AND EXPECT A STAIN UPON THE WORLD OUR VOICES SING WITH METAL AND WITH VELVET […]
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PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES The backseat driver sits by my side applying the brakes, cautioning, “There’s a car!” which, by the way, is ten car lengths ahead at a corner and I am already fully aware. “Here are the keys,” I offer, stopped at the roadside, “Would you prefer to drive?” But now, she is offended, says she just […]
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