Irritable Bowel Syndrome By Dan Provost

And, after finally being

able to take a shit after

three weeks of suffering…

I stood up, turned to my left,

then, forgot what I was doing.

I threw a right jab in the air…out of frustration. 

Swearing at Bukowski under my breath…

Saying to myself, “I would have taken that fat bastard

out with one punch…”

I bled on the toilet paper…

Hemorrhoids, or maybe just some leftover sadness…

Flushed, wiped off the sweat from my brow…

Picked up the book of poems I was reading by Alan Catlin…

Wishing I could be in the same stratosphere with the posey as him…

Sprayed the stench, for, my wife was coming home

from work soon…

Not yet diluted, but looking at the ceiling…

Waiting for the count.

The TKO…

That would afford me a chance

to leave

the game

for good.

Dan Provost's poetry has been published throughout the small press for a number of years. Some recent publications include: Ariel Chart, Poetical Review, Merak Magazine, Oddball Magazine, Deuce Coupe, Misfit Magazine, the Rye Whiskey Review, Cajun Mutt Press and the Dope Fiend Daily. He has two books coming out in 2020. Under the Influence of Nothingness by Kung Fu Treachery Press and Rattle of a Realizer, published by Whiskey City Press. He lives in Berlin, New Hampshire with his wife Laura and dog Bella.

Unmooring My Blue Boat That Was Hidden For So Long By Trish Saunders

 

After months in weeds, I thought my little blue boat was

ruined.

It hardly leaks at all.

Hop in, I say to a wood duck watching from the shore.   

See how it feels to be a passenger

 for a change.

He nods yes, he would like that.

and we drift, us two, for hours

over Lake Washington 

until I see a face 

staring up at me from the reeds.

Come on in, it whispers,

 the water’s fine,

which startles me awake.

The duck has flown.

How far away the shore is now, how very far away. 

Trish Saunders writes poems and short fiction from Seattle, formerly Honolulu. She has been published in The American Journal of Poetry, Punk Noir Magazine, Medusa’s Kitchen, Off The Coast, Pacifica Poetry Review, and the Rye Whiskey Review.

Fade By Wayne Russell

Sunset in full bloom

bleed out the old day

sleepily into silence

rain gentle on me into

lulling dream, we had

our moment in the sun

danced together for

a little while, but nothing

last forever, kiss me now

goodbye, join me in those

sweetest of memories.

Wayne Russell is a creative jack of all trades, master of none. Poet, singer, artist, rhythm guitarist, photographer, and author of the poetry books “Splinter of the Moon” and "Waves of Lucidity", both published via Silver Bow Publishing, they are both available for purchase on Amazon in paperback and digital formats such as Ingram Distribution at your local library.

 

ABSTRACTIONS By Susan Isla Tepper

                for Simon Perchik (1923 – 2022)

While you lay dying

my left ear bled

abstractions

streaking the pillow

— you’d unearth a poem

were you able

Day after I woke to

red filling the white

of my right eye

— both sloshed its river

But when the limb

entwined

crashed down

what was left to feed the other.

Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty year writer in all genres. Her stage play "Crooked Heart" will be featured in Origin Theatre Company 'May Play Festival', NYC.

Pages of Us By John Drudge

A conduit of dreams 

And truths 

Wielding words

Transforming

Connecting 

A bridge 

To understanding

A window into worlds

A spark 

Igniting change

Journeys 

Of self-discovery 

Communication

The essence of us 

Challenging perspectives

Touching hearts

Crafting realities

From thoughts unspoken

Wrestling the shadows

Of imagination’s depth

Breathing life

Into the unvoiced

Evolving visions

Beyond the page

Every sentence a heartbeat

Every story a reflection

A dance of ink and thought

Leaving imprints

On the eternity

Of us

John is a social worker working in the field of disability management and holds degrees in social work, rehabilitation services, and psychology.  He is the author of seven books of poetry: “March” (2019), “The Seasons of Us” (2019), New Days (2020), Fragments (2021), A Long Walk (2023), A Curious Art (2024) and Sojourns (2024) . His work has appeared widely in literary journals, magazines, and anthologies internationally. John is also a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and lives in Caledon Ontario, Canada with his wife and two children.

 

Angst By Bruce Morton

We think we must fake it,

Take it as it comes, or goes.

No need to be anxious about

Anxiety. It is best to let it be,

Let tension become pretention.

We worry about worry, hurry

As we scurry to and from

Who knows where or why.

Afraid we are to be judged

So we refrain from judging

And judgment. Sooner or

Later we run out of fingernails

Anyway. Unable to scratch

The surface of our insecurities,

We rub hurt feelings, massage

Inflated and deflated egos.      

Bruce Morton divides his time between Montana and Arizona. He is the author of two poetry collections: Planet Mort (2024) and Simple Arithmetic & Other Artifices (2014). His poems have appeared in numerous online and print venues. He was formerly dean at the Montana State University library.

Doctor Theaters' Kiss By Alex S. Johnson

Having spun the eyes of

carnival

creation 

into

a tapestry of black silk cinema 

Mistress Spider squatted 

philosophically over

The navel of herstory 

With a winedash pour of

self-sufficiency

Scattered glitter dialectics to 

the four corners 

Stretched the sun's skin and

fashioned a 

Drum from it to

Procreate polyrhythms that 

rival tabla dialogues 

Rat rat tat machine gun

blistering blast beats of 

black metal

Shapeshifting to raven stretched her

guillotine wings over the

giggling quantum foam 

As coyote chuckled once more to

see humanity dash itself to

bits of pottery shards over 

shallow ideals and 

hollow men

Doctor Theater hovers at the door

of the final floorshow 

Tickets please. 

Alex S. Johnson is the acclaimed author of Final Destination: Wipeout, Jason X: Death Moon, Bad Sunset, The Doom Hippies and Bizarrely Depared. His poetry has appeared in numerous venues including 13 Mynah Birds, Misfits, Unlikely Stories, Black Noise, and much more. John Shirley, screenwriter of the cult classic horror film The Crow starring Brandon Lee, wrote of his forthcoming dark poetry collection Thunderstruck, "Alex S. Johnson is the Baudelaire of our time; the poet of the underground." Among the honors he's received are the acquisition of Skull Vinyl and The Doom Hippies by the Widener Library at Harvard University. Johnson's upcoming works include Blood Red Romance: A Dark Poetry Collection with Alea Celeste Williams. He lives in Carmichael, California with his family.