ANCESTOR WORSHIP The Gothic doors beckon me in. I enter. The nave is dim Though from the vaults the lights suspend And through the glass the colors blend. I forward step into the past Where medieval shadows cast. Distracted. What’s that I hear? The chant of monks praying near? Where columns rise, the open sky Appears […]
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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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“You swirl and take the strait past You swing those hips of yours Your eyes they hardly break a glimpse As you kiss with all you’ve got. You turn around to go one away Your hands they’re still on mine Your eyes look away with that glazed holdout Your hands are still on mine. You tell me never […]
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When I pile up cut tomatoes, red onion, and radishes on top of romaine lettuce, I think of the hands that picked, cleaned, packed, and loaded them on trucks, carried them to cold rooms arranged them on shelves. As I remember stories of my father, a new comer a child-laborer in another era in another country, I say a […]
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Lay Figure – By Frank De Canio A woman’s like a full form mannequin some tailors utilize to make a dress. For well-stitched fabric needs a frame to pin itself on to ensure that points of stress are placed to maximize a proper fit. But fantasy’s a pattern that demands deft needlework if guys are to acquit themselves with more […]
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Vanquished by, Melissa R. Mendelson The vulture flew around in circles as its prey awoke to a world slipping apart piece after piece while the bald eagle lay buried in the sand. The vulture swooped by and ripped open an arm with its sharp beak as the prey screamed out in pain, which echoed over the vast land. The […]
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THRESHER INTO GREY (By Joseph Cavera) I arose just as any man would this day To see the waves of longevic age Dance tirelessly on Earth’s stage Crashing incessantly in a sea of gray Lieutenant’s cries were enough To wake even those residing in the sick bay To the task of tidying bunks and say Conditions never improve, […]
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The Calendar The sun coughed, scattered itself for a split second into myriad droplets – so divided, poured itself into the central chasm, flattening it to glory, clinching the final resilience of the chasm’s rocks – that reject sediment, so newly refined. Its roughage thickened the barriers against itself. In the beginning of time was its end, finally clinched to […]
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The Widow Next Door Every Saturday when the sun is out and it’s hotter than Hades Monica next door raises her garage door early in the morning and leaves it up long past noon as if Herm will walk out at any minute oily and greasy needing to clean up the way he used to every Saturday […]
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Almost Nothing On My TV by, Melissa R. Mendelson The summer’s coming to an end. I’m sitting on my porch, watching it die. Enjoying the heat and watching time fly, And there’s nothing on my tv. Almost nothing at all. All the good stuff is waiting for the fall. There is the good Preacher, Trying to save us […]
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