INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Chris Lord
Joseph McNair
Duane Locke
Lazlo Slomovits
Alan Britt
Shutta Crum
Tolu Ogunlesi
Jerry Blanton
Paul B. Roth
Fred Wolven
Felino Soriano
Sharon E. Boyd
Joanie Freeman
Jumoke Verissimo
Running Cub
Jeanpaul Ferro
S. P. Flannery
Kristina Marie Darling
Gary Beck
Dike Okoro
Karyn M. Wolven
Remember the kisses
When you break bread
Forget the hisses
When you cut the thread
Bruised suns will lack
Rays when honored at the rock
But eyes already tortured
By acrid smoke and the thud
Of the sea that woke up late
Always blink when revelations rustle
GRANNY
Today I return
To the old house you
Built before you
Passed away. Old things
Have a way with sadness
And silence. Sure
I remember your smile,
But what good is a smile
When you are miles away
From these days' eyes, buried
In the mound in the front yard,
And my memory of you
Teaching me how to skin
A slaughtered chicken
Soaked in hot water is
The laughter within?
Dike Okoro, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria