Bruce Bond – Shame

Shame             I go the way that Providence dictates,             with the assurance of a sleepwalker. And sleep replied, if you want me, I will be in the light of the freezer with a fifth of scotch and a revolver. Which is when he resolved to take a season in the Alps, close his eyes to watch […]

Rebecca Baggett – Lost Language

Lost Language He speaks intently now, a rush of soft syllables, language of splash and shriek, the occasional word we recognize as one of ours ‒ “Cah!” (anything with wheels), “Sheeze!” (what he would eat for every meal). But mostly his tales are unintelligible, though we strain to comprehend, tilt our better ears toward him, […]

Benjamin Patterson – Blooms

Blooms Twelve yellowed lilies rising from the irises now departed twelve forms the circle. Five is a star: points weaving lightness of sound, the yellow brass together as five flies circling, crushed one between my finger and palm. Am I a good man, a spot of dark blood on the skin? Walking on pavement turned […]

Zachary Kluckman – Moonlit Effigies

Moonlit Effigies Once we weighed                               all the scarecrows from our father’s              fields.     I don’t remember                                                         what we were trying to prove, but we counted              ourselves lucky. To know the full sky without                               a fear for the heaviness of our bodies.              To run.     Legs stretching                                                         like the dying light of day.              Fish still in the ponds. […]

Bob Hicok – To do, ta da

To do, ta da The leak is gone. I substituted pipe dope for Teflon tape and the leak is gone. I fixed it. Fixed it and did a little dance in my head. I see why people become plumbers or mechanics or doctors: the little dance, and something to do with their hands, a certain […]