INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Chris Lord
Joseph McNair
Karyn M. Wolven
Geoffrey Philp
Paul B. Roth
Duane Locke
Silvia Scheibli
Shutta Crum
Felino Soriano
Steve Beaulieu
Donald Hewlett
Alan Britt
Joanie Freeman
Mervyn M. Solomon
Jerry Blanton
Marilyn Churchill
Running Cub
Mukul Dahal
Alice Paris
Helen
Losse
Fred Wolven
Elements
crushed
by a red November wind:
Twisted, wild
and curled
palomino leaves.
Dogs tapping
with opaque claws
these leaves
chilled by Canadian air
leave yellow footprints
in my blood.
SOLITUDE
Wine's black hips slosh beside a pale, blood-stained carnation.
Napkins scattered like poker cards across the kitchen table.
An ebony violin guides a blind, arthritic Peruvian jaguar
by a heavy chain past the wheezy refrigerator.
WEDNESDAY
The afternoon sun
drags her dirty blond hair
across our kitchen table.
The late hour, a flock of starlings
blown like pepper
this way
and that.
November circles the house
in a burning red costume
designed to fool death.
Alan Britt, Reisterstown, Maryland