This Most Terrible Sting

by Mark Killam

Under the glare of a cold winter sun,

there they stood-

one huge family gathered as one,

gaining great strength,

as they buried a loving son.

The horrific deed now is done,

their lonesome journey-

one of loss and despair-just begun.

Yet in being together

sharing bittersweet memories-

Along with the laughter and many tears-

they’re sure to bring.

And one day soon-

as the Angels of Heaven begin to sing-

A familiar voice they’ll surely hear,

and forever gone –

will be this most terrible sting.

What Will I Kill Today? (The Ethics of Home and Lawn Care)

by Woody McCree

The armadillos are coming every night now,

Ripping apart my pristine green lawn

With their grub-searching snouts and claws.

 

There are ants on my kitchen counter;

Yes, I understand that I practically invited them in,

Cooking for three nights in a row

Without wiping down the surface.

 

I understand that I am the one who sliced the cantaloupe,

Allowing the juice to drip down,

Forming pale orange puddles on the gray Formica.

I concede it is my fault the ants are here;

Nevertheless, they are here.

 

The squirrels keep reaching around to my well-hung birdfeeders,

Stretching their flexible torsos

To steal the abundant seed.

The sunflower seed and suet are for the cardinals,

The warblers, and the tufted-titmice

Not the acrobatic rats with fluffy tails.

 

Floppy green elephant ears keep sprouting up

Through the inches of well-manicured mulch,

Layered impeccably to prevent all weeds from taking root.

 

This array of choices dizzies me.

I have no choice;

There is only one choice:

Kill them!

Kill them ALL!

For One Who is Lost

by Woody McCree

My Love for you fills the universe.

What the first wave of radiation felt

When that first pulsing particle expanded and stretched

To become the outward edge of all galaxies,

That is the love I feel for you.

 

The drive to reach for nutrients

In the fluids beyond the first amoeba’s cell wall,

That is the love I feel for you.

 

The longing of trees for the earth

As they send roots downward

Into crevices between stone and clay,

That is the love I feel for you.

 

The way of a wolf with her pups,

The instinct to protect and snarl,

That is the love I feel for you.

 

The yearning of stars that hurl their light

Past aeons to reach a thousand distant worlds,

That is the love I feel for you.

 

The lip-quivering, hand-trembling, wine-struck staggering,

Breathless, hopeless, endless-

That is the love I feel for you.

Recipe for Disaster

by Michael Rodgers

Main ingredients:

One self-centered redneck
The dumber the better
One stubborn female
Any size and IQ will do

Secondary ingredients:

Two bad attitudes
A considerable amount of wild sex
Copious amounts of hard liquor
A Generous dusting of Cocaine
One large can of Whoop-ass
One single wide trailer
Any caliber firearm

Note to chef:

These are only general guidelines.
Feel free to experiment with social and economic status of main ingredients.
Think jambalaya.

Directions:

Stir male and female
blend with alcohol until horny
Heat until wild sex begins
Move the mixture into the single wide Trailer home and let simmer.
Add more booze
When sex begins to cool
Add cocaine if available
Meth is a fine substitute
More booze please
Sex should have evaporated by now
Add one bad attitude and stir aggressively
Immediately add other bad attitude
Along with rest of booze
Increase heat until attitudes are burning
Open can of whoop-ass
Add entire can and stir violently
Recipe is done when gunshots are heard.

Biography
I am currently working on my third best-selling novel. I gave up on the first two. I once considered writing a book on procrastination, but put it off until tomorrow. By the time you read this, I will be done typing. The voices tell me I’m doing fine, but they worry about you.

Hard Enough, I’ve Found It Is

by Korey Jones

Hard enough, I’ve found it is
Choosing just one scene to live.
For oceans rise and cornfields run,
But look the same when all is done

And lives are rooted, sand or snow,
Which dots on maps have never shown;
So many boxes here and there
Still home to ghosts that time did spare.

If boldly spoken I could last,
But oh these faces come and pass!
Now so I’ve roamed, and right to claim,
These different places feel the same.

Coffee, Tea, or ?

by Charlene Pratt
   
            I missed my taste of you this morning.

When I taste you, warmness fills my mouth,

                             Glides easily down my throat, careful not to

take too much, overflow may stain clothes.

              To have you every morning, would I tire of your

flavor?

                               Lips touching the rim, an afternoon delight,

coming of early evening, wisp of an after dinner drink.

Late night taste, oh how could I tire?

            I missed my taste of you this morning,

                   I woke a little too late.


Biography
Charlene M. Pratt a.k.a. Summer Harp is a self-published author of two poetry books, Notes on Thoughts, Stir-fry Poetry and chick-lit Conversations with Women…thoughts you didn’t want anyone to know you had. She also loves to cook and read cookbooks as well as experiment with different recipes. She is working on writing erotica a romantica series.

The Blue Moon Café

by Charlene Pratt

The air wasn’t saturated with smoke, drinks were

in colorful glassware filled with the taste of sweet,

bitter, dry and sour.

            Chairs without iron, or lightly padded, but filled

with spaciousness, comfort of a folder paper in a

number 10 with a window view.

            Lights were soft, not a darkened room,

aromas of fine cuisine, service of luxury.  Colorful walls

with washable painted menus, changeable like a

piece of clothing.  Continuous seats of comfort

surrounded an outer brick layer, with light splashes of

color.

            The line of silks, linens, cottons,

colors blending, some bouncing off each other.

            Draping bodies always out

the front door with feet in stylish

comfort,.  Couples, single, a party of

four, group of eight, reservations

            should be made for an hour and half wait,

no matter the time.

            Pings of steel drums, violins, long

Strings of a cello rise and fall of

                        the tempo, increase the inner pace of

eating, conversations with a hidden

quickness…slow, quick, slow.

            When it rained never knew when,

if it did no one was ever wet, nor believed of

            Florida heat, days, nights, Chicago cold, wind.

                        No one gets enough, at least once a

month, surrender to yogurt lunch for a

            week or so, an easiness of a habit

without pain.  Others with papers of

green a weekly scene.

            This place I love only opens during

the blue moon at The Blue Moon Café.

Biography
Charlene M. Pratt a.k.a. Summer Harp is a self-published author of two poetry books, Notes on Thoughts, Stir-fry Poetry and chick-lit Conversations with Women…thoughts you didn’t want anyone to know you had. She also loves to cook and read cookbooks as well as experiment with different recipes. She is working on writing erotica a romantica series.

Feel Like Winter

by Kelley Egan

The snow is slowly melting
and I feel my soul drifting away.
My eyes are growing tired
and I realize I am not here to stay.
The trees are growing taller
as my body is growing older.
Soon my skin will crack
and my blood will turn colder.
The moon seems closer
as my days on Earth are numbered.
The rain falls so much harder
like my tears that roll like thunder.
When will
it be?
The last
breath I take?

Eclipse

by Emily Yandell

The moon and sun meet for the first time.
Day and night no longer fight to shine.
The sun tells the moon to hold on tight, as
The sun takes the moon on a marvelous flight.
Day and night fade into one and love is the only light that is shone.
Even star crossed lovers could not beat this love,
This is the kind of love only meant for up above.
The moon so small and frail kisses the sun.
This is proof that the eclipse is almost done.
With a last look they say good bye,
And go back to their places in the sky.

Chaos and Beauty

by Anna Maldzhiev

This blank page –
no longer blank
I call upon my muse for help
I gather my strengths and thoughts
to transform this page into anything else
turn it into a portal
a secret door to something greater
to a world of chaos and beauty
of graceful lines and sputtering clouds
of filth
sensible and nonsensical
into the deepest recesses of the shallowest grave
where red velvety rose pedals create shelter for the worms
and a cover for the pain.

Biography

I like to write.