2nd Hour and Other Poems

By Januário Esteves 2nd Hour By the secret path What night does he carry I saw life alone And what matters most to us This boldness that is altar Where the tears remain Because I can not cry The senses that please To the heavens praised In prayer we watched The broken hearts To survive, …

Penumbra and Other Poems

By Joe Welch Penumbra It travels on my left shoulder With the grip of a stolid black crow. Sharp talons press through the cloth Digging into my skin. Is this my imagination? I look as easily to the left as to my right. For now I will look to my right. I am searching for …

Matter and Other Poems

By Alex Andy Phuong Matter Scientific chemistry Romantic sensibility Mind over matter Mad as a hatter They had chattered They had flattered Even flirting Could come off As too strong Back off Or be wrong And sing a song Because passion Is a matter of selection Purify Purify purity Practice serenity Surrender the heart Ease …

I Keep Looking at Her

By Marc Carver I keep looking at her. I can't take my eyes off of her and she is looking straight at me as if I was the only man in the world. How I wish I could touch her or speak to her but I can't. So I just keep looking and breathing in …

Declawed Cats Shouldn’t Live Outdoors and Other Poems

By Peter Mladinic Declawed Cats Shouldn't Live Outdoors Put on an optimistic face. It’s the only way to meet oblivion. The blue t-shirt that reads Optimism. No one wants to sit In the cyber Café and think about oblivion Or in the movies before the coming attractions. Did you notice the beginnings of Public Enemies …

Rounds

By Chris Toto Zaremba I left the market slowly walking behind a stooped over elderly man.I teased, "Lets get a move on here!"He stopped, straightened out and turned to me with a chuckle,"At 92, I don't move too fast!"We ended up talking for over an hour. He was doing his 'rounds' he told me: to …

Family Urn and Other Poems

By Vibha Vasanth Family Urn Our family, by the door, has an urn Where people go after they burn; Honestly it is more of a tray Yes, the ashes sometimes fly away; I don’t want to be put there once I’m gone And this feeling only got more strong; When during one of my short …

Le Masque de Lycées and Other Poems

By Thomas Page Le Masque de Lycées We waltz to a beat of six feet apart With our black masks hiding the stories of our teeth and beards Relying on kind eyes to say hello and good morning— A masque of sorts— To hide in our rooms in thirty-odd desks with only one occupant. Cinderella's …

Forgiven

By Jim Woessner Even from a distance, I could feel the fear rising within me like mercury in a thermometer. Not that the dog was necessarily mean. I couldn’t tell from a hundred feet away. It just looked mean. And although it was on a leash, it wasn’t a particularly short leash. The dog could …

The Call

By Satabdi Saha It was time to go. The car was  scheduled to arrive after an hour or so. He sat, ruminating, heart heavy and torn, to leave the  house where he and Anjali lived for more than fifty years. The quiet little garden where they planted roses and her favourite Kamini tree beneath the …