Lost Soul by Isabella Arthur ~ep
Still sitting here,
Now starting to decay.
A tear falls down my face,
While my heart is on display.
You never meant to hurt me,
You played me like a game.
I was left with one thing,
A burnt out flame.
Category: 2009 — 1.2 (Spring)
The Way by Isabella Arthur ~ep
I Love you for who you are and not for who I want you to be.
I Love the way your eyes sparkle in the light,
and the way your voice echoes in my ears.
I Love the way you think about others and not just yourself,
and the way you care about their insides and not their outsides.
I Love it when you’re near because I fear nothing,
I Know you’ll protect me from all.
I Love the way my heart fills with joy when I’m thinking about you.
The way you’re kind, sweet, and generous to everyone you see and meet.
And most of all, I Love the way you Love me.
Rip in Space by Sean Springle ~ep
Rip Van Winkle finally awoke from his slumber and decided,
he may have overslept.
The world was barren, and still, like the corpse it was.
The earth, so still you could hear it groan in protest of Atlas’ absence.
Old man Rip desperately sought new prey,
his story must be told or it all would have been for nothing.
And when It All seemed lost,
he turned his tear-filled eyes to the burnt skies
and knew what must be done.
Rip followed in his descendants’ footsteps
to the suns that studded the sparkling starscape.
The path, as old as it was, was lovingly marked
with the remnants of war, death, love, and suffering.
He pressed on and bore witness to truly great things,
and their abandonment.
In the place between stars,
where light is a whisper in the symphony of the night,
there lies the Cathedral.
Engraved upon its walls was the end of mankind.
Finally surpassing the limit of existence,
their minds could reveal their true forms;
Demonic angels tearing at each other,
exposing their crimson clockwork insides,
still ticking in unison with the rhythm of righteousness.
The heavenly bodies fought till reality itself was torn asunder,
leaving a building of empty worship and a message for the likes of Rip Van Winkle:
In the end, the penitent man was weak,
and here lies his grave,
along with all his hopes and dreams.
Alas, this was the burden Rip had in abundance,
but when he spoke of his own tale,
these words of the flesh held no meaning to
creatures who personified transcendence,
and meant even less to the dead.
Laughter boomed from the bowels of the grave marker at the sight of his frustrated sobs,
and even Rip, had to appreciate that humanity never lost its sense of humor.
When You’re Mad by Sharon Valderrama ~ep
I’m not some little girl
That you can toss around
And scream at
When you’re mad,
Be a good man.
I’m no Raggedy Ann doll,
I have feelings
A heart that beats
Just like yours,
Even when you’re mad.
It’s time you took a look in the mirror,
See the person you are now,
You’re filled with anger and frustration,
Those are now your motivations,
I’m not trying to be hating,
But see the person you are now.
It’s not your fault,
I should’ve stood up
Straight and tall,
I had many chances
Now they’ll have to take me “as is.”
Look at me,
I’m all grown up
Stop trying,
Stop lying,
It won’t help you anymore
I’m out on my own,
On my way out the door.
Expansion by Woody McCree ~ep
In the ripple of moonlight on the river,
A heron glides from reeds to tree.
A frog plops in the water as I pass.
The hum of cicadas surrounds me,
and the rush of water over Dayton dam.
I stretch my finger to the sky:
What separates me from the night?
Erase the line between it and I.
The breeze brushes the hair of my arm;
My fingertips reach to touch the wind.
This boundary of skin,
Here I do not end, but only begin.
Voyeur by Taryn Alexander ~ep
Hanging off
the fire escape, dangling
yellow rain boots,
I consider the moss growing
in the cracks me.
below
In the small, dingy kitchen
you’re c/u/t/t/i/n/g
the celery wrong, cracking
ribs on the chopping block.
Quick eyes flick up from your
chore and I’m caught. Again.
You are willing to sacrifice
your toaster for privacy.
The whips the
cord in breeze
and we both
fall
-crumbs on the concrete.
Life After Life by Rebecca Varley ~ep
Life after life
Vulnerable,
i rest easy.
Swallowed
to quench an insatiable thirst-
i sacrifice my
Ego
to
vastness.
May it
nourish.
Exposed,
i lie free.
Infinity envelops,
her cool waters
transmutate
this plane- the
shell
of a soul
left behind.
Alone,
never feeling more
connected,
i am complete-
an ever important Thread
in the woven
fabric of
existence.
The Crowded Elevator by Adam Smith ~ep
Here in this five-by-eight metal box of ascension and dissension we come closer to the entire world than we ever even realize. We see people of business, constantly rushing, always on cell phones, carrying black bags with that fancy aftershave smell and those pleather shoes which are always shiny. We see people of art, constantly finding the beauty in everything, always daydreaming, carrying mp3 players, pens, notebooks and messenger bags or beat-up backpacks, with that strange smell that you can’t quite put your finger on. We see the people of money, constantly glamorous, always looking their very best, carrying label upon label, smelling of the finest perfumes and colognes, always letting the rest of the world know just how great they have it. We see the weirdos, constantly making everyone else feel uncomfortable, always wearing strange clothing that doesn’t fit and staring at people for long periods of time without blinking, carrying half -eaten bags of Funions and Bugles and dirty bandanas smelling of stuffing that was left out a few hours too long and body odor, always letting the rest of the world know just how risky it may be to get in an elevator.
Love Is Blind by Adam Smith ~ep
As I stood out on the beach, my eyes fixed on the shoreline, I could feel the cool morning breeze of spring brushing against my face, running through my hair, penetrating my jacket, making the hairs on my body stand up, sending a chill down my spine. I could feel the sun’s bright warm rays beaming down on me from the east. I come here often to think and relax. Oh, I’m sorry; you’ll have to forgive me. I’m not used to speaking to other people. My name is Max, Max Walker. I’m 42 years old and I live with my dog Apollo in a small beach house off of Montauk Point. It’s 9 am on March 21st and I decided to take Apollo for a walk on the shoreline. Apollo is usually a very tame dog that stays by my side all the time, but today of all days was the one time he decided to run away from me. He ran ahead of me barking loudly over and over, so I followed closely behind. After a good three minutes he finally stopped as did I. I walked up to him taking hold of his leash asking him why he took off on me. Then I realized that there was someone right in front of me. I stood up, brushed the sand off my pants and began to speak:
“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. Are you ok? I hope my dog didn’t startle you too much.” They didn’t say anything back. I felt kind of awkward and embarrassed. I tried again to apologize, a little more formally this time:
“Look, I really didn’t mean for him to scare you if he did. He’s usually a very tame dog, I don’t know why he rushed off, and I really do hope you’re ok.” They still didn’t say anything. I could feel them staring at me, yet no words what so ever. At this point I felt offended myself and decided to leave. As I was walking away they grabbed me by the arm. They finally spoke, or at least tried to by saying ,”Iths okey. Noo hawm Dun.” I was a little surprised to hear that it was a woman, even more so that she had what seemed to be a speech impediment. Not that it bothered me at all, I guess it had been too long since I’ve interacted with others. Usually I tend to make small talk and go back to my business but something about this woman struck my interest. I really wanted to stay longer, but I decided it was best not to say too much, since it seemed like she wasn’t very comfortable talking. So I gathered up some courage and asked her, “Hey, this might sound weird but would you mind if I walked with you for a bit? I don’t really have anywhere else to be and I’d really like the company.” She didn’t say anything back, so I decided to try again.
“If you don’t mind my staying with you just pull on my jacket sleeve once, but if you’d like me to leave pull twice.” As I said this I decided to motion this out, shaking my head yes and no for each option. I then felt a gentle tug on my jacket sleeve. I smiled and sat down on the sand and she followed my lead. “I’m Max by the way. Max Walker.”
“Cathwine Sonnet.” She said to me.
“Well Catherine, it’s nice to meet you,” I said with a smile on my face. We sat there for hours, our eyes to the horizon. We didn’t say a word to each other. I know this is going to sound strange, and I don’t think you could possibly understand, but those hours seemed like sheer minutes, and even though all we did was sit beside each other it was truly the best day I ever had. I’ll admit I was constantly worried that she was going to get bored and leave, but she stayed with me the whole time. As the sun set I could feel the air around me getting colder and the wind picking up. I didn’t want to go, but I knew I had to, not to mention I’m sure she had to as well. I turned to her and asked if I could see her again tomorrow? I could feel her eyes upon me, and I felt her tug against my jacket, and at the same time I could swear I could feel her smile. I stood up and helped her up, and we brushed ourselves off. She walked in one direction as me and Apollo walked in another. The whole way back to the house I couldn’t stop smiling thinking of how amazing I felt. As I got inside and got ready to sleep, I was considering telling her how I felt tomorrow. She could be completely freaked out by it and chose to leave and never come back. Or she could embrace it and maybe feel the same. It was very risky but I was tired of being alone. I was tired of never knowing if I could ever find someone who would love me and all of my flaws. Maybe I was crazy. Hell, I’ll admit it, I know I was crazy to feel this way, but I had to try. Tomorrow I would tell her how I felt.
The next morning, around the same time, I went back to the beach hoping I might run into her again. I walked to where I thought we were yesterday and waited for her to show up. After an hour had passed, I became a little concerned. Maybe I was just being impatient but I couldn’t help how I was feeling. Just then I heard tires screeching on the road off the beach. I knew this area well enough to know that hardly any drivers came around here this early unless they were coming back from party fishing boats, so naturally they’d be drunk. Apollo ran from me again, barking furiously, I followed confused at first, but then as I was running I became more and more conscious as to what might have happened. Could she have been hit by that car? Could she have been in that car? My mind was racing as was I. I heard Apollo run up some steps so I was sure to grasp the hand rail so as not to fall. I got to the sidewalk and followed Apollo into the street. I was sure Catherine was hit. Just then I heard someone call to me:
“Max?”
I recognized her voice, and my spirit shot up. I turned and yelled her name. I could feel her in front of me and I’m sure she could see me. At this point I was too excited to care about anything else. I took what had happened as a sign, and began running to her voice, as she ran to me as well. I thought this was it. This was fate. What we were destined to do. To be. Together. However, I was wrong. Because the sun was bright that day, and the wind was blowing fiercely, and the waves were crashing hard. That’s why she couldn’t see the car racing around the corner, and that’s why I couldn’t hear it.
In the End by Sarah Ward ~ep
Roaming the field in solitude, I’m declaring need to the heavens
Spilling death on the snow before me–red cold pressed to my lips
My hands feel unattached with wandering fingers.
Open my coat so I can become one with the frozen ground.
Free. Grace forward and wait for the fluff to settle
Each flake plops light on my back
Warmth has never seemed so minute as this shrinking heart
With every shriveling beat left in my throat
I widen my lips to suck in the snow
Welcoming the slow freeze of my eyes
that will never see past the leaves
dead on the wandering oak tree.