Poetry

Elephantal Humans by Laura Taylor

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eugene asked why I liked women
I should have said hectocotylus that’s why
duck sex with screwdriving gangbangs that’s why
invertebrate hypodermic insemination
that’s why
but no
elephants are matriarchal
built with chastity-belt shaped penis-clits
it’s true
for the giants of drum-beating hearts
their consent is holy, is sexy, is built-in
my dark friend from cameroon
thinks lesbian sex is practice
likes his girlfriend to kiss girls
but not other men
eugene, I like elephantal humans.
more often than not,
their earthsuits are female
just as the packages you prefer
that’s why
and when your girlfriend prefers other lips
to yours
her yes is holy,
her kiss is never practice.

Laura Taylor was raised in Hawaii, but currently lives in Oklahaoma, which she says is Ok! For more poems and such, check out Laura’s blog.

Sometimes We Share by Kenneth Gurney

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Sometimes we share
a cup of starry nights
and drink the empathy
of the ancient buffalo herds
that thundered the world
and channeled a waking
of distinctions
between theory and practice
and a spirit-world-substance
that we label friendship
and reshape a little
through mathematics
to form such a biology
that the knowledge of oneness
is contained in a song
that flocking birds follow
on their semiannual migrations.

Bio: Kenneth P. Gurney lives in Albuquerque, NM, USA with his beloved Dianne. His latest collection of poems is Curvature of a Fluid Spine. To learn more visit kpgurney.me

Things I May Never Understand by SaraEve Daly

~ Sophie Boyce ~ 1 Comment

Daytime drinking on a rainy Monday
is always going to make me think of

my mother.

If you met her now, you would not
have any idea why she’s the reason I
scared myself straight

for almost a decade.

The last time I saw my mother drink,
I bought her a shot of top shelf whiskey
at one of my features.

Like a real fucking grown up.

Born and raised in New Jersey, SaraEve is a performance poet and epilepsy advocate from Union City. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Wicked Banshee Press (2014) and has competed in the 2013 Women of the World Poetry Slam. She volunteers regularly at National Poetry Slams and facilitates advocacy in poetry slam workshops. She is a Stephen King nerd, and writes [H]ouse fan fiction in her spare time. You can find out more about SaraEve by visiting her website – http://saraeve41.wix.com/saraevepoet.

Transmogrification by Bruce Harris

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Transmogrification

I.

War changed him. Alcohol and drug abuse, petty robberies, assaults, run-ins with
the law too numerous to mention comprised a police record intestine long. He
returned commutated. That was the plan.

II.

That was the plan. He returned commutated. Alcohol and drug abuse, petty
robberies, assaults, run-ins with the law too numerous to mention comprised a
police record intestine long. War changed him.

III.

No war.

IV.

No plan.

Bruce Harris is the author of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: ABout Type.

The Feckless Illuminati by Richard King Perkins II

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“Bly put in a word for me with a few editors and soon I was publishing routinely…” J.R.A

I have no great cause
against his chosen words—
sincerely addressing the meditative
like an old tomcat’s
milk-content purr.
But is this really
how you would go about it—
foregoing meritocracy
in favor of witless patronage?
I prefer the poet
who will claw my face
and give me nothing
at all
except a steel bar
that taunts
and waits
only for my ascension.

Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications including Poetry Salzburg Review, Bluestem, Sheepshead Review, Sierra Nevada Review, The William and Mary Review, Two Thirds North and The Red Cedar Review. He is a three-time Pushcart nominee and has work forthcoming in Broad River Review, Emrys Journal, December Magazine and The Louisiana Review.

Congenital Conditions by Daniel Wallock

~ Sophie Boyce ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes,
dreaming
in the
shower,
I forget
the scars.

This sometimes
is so
rare,
I can’t recall
the last time
I forgot
my heart.

Daniel’s writing has appeared in Burningword Literary Journal, Paragraph Planet, and The Bolt Magazine. He’s received four writing awards including first place in San Jose State University’s Nonfiction Short Story Contest. He also received a Gold Key for nonfiction, the highest regional honor, from Scholastic’s Art and Writing Awards. Daniel worked as manager of marketing at Ginosko Literary Journal and he’s founder of This Very Breath Journal.

Some Kind of Conversion: Half of a Conversation Overheard at Starbucks by Kenneth Nichols

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…Yeah, so this atheist guy I’m talking to…

…Next semester, we’re doing a lot together…
…Having breakfast…
…Talking C.S. Lewis…
…He likes to work out…

…I refuse to do that with some of these guys, but he’s workable…

…He was Poli Sci, but now he’s going to law school…

…Yeah, the Christian Legal Society had a tremendous lawsuit two years ago because they wouldn’t allow homosexuals on the board…

…That’s what they’re about. They want to do stuff like that…

…And that’s another reason I want to go…

…I have no idea what that looks like…

…I’m praying God leads me though this long, arduous process…


Kenneth Nichols teaches writing at two colleges in Central New York. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Ohio State. (Go Bucks!) His work has appeared in publications including Coup d’Etat, Main Street Rag, Lunch Ticket, Prime Number, Skeptical Inquirer, the Tin House blog and PopMatters. He also reviews literary journals for NewPages, and 1.5 sentences of his work for the Not For Tourists Guide to Queens were quoted in The New Yorker.

Another Night Of The Living Dead by John Grey

~ Sophie Boyce ~ Leave a comment

She has recently returned from the dead.
Thankfully, her skin didn’t have time to rot
and her bones are still quite capable
of holding her flesh together.
Eyes green…check.
Intestines in working order…check.
Lungs… yes even the lungs
are inhaling, exhaling perfectly.
She’s not even coughing up dirt.
It’s a miracle.
No, not really-
More likely three a,m. on Sunday morning,
a mother’s vigil ended long before
in a deep couch sleep,
a father threatening to smash the guy’s face in
before he too succumbed to the call of weariness.
She’s back from the deadly car crash.
She’s awoken out of that drunken stupor.
Not even the rape and murder
has her looking blankly up at daisy roots
or crying out to the weevils,
“Come and get it!”
She’s tired and crawls into bed
without taking her clothes off.
Next morning, three corpses
swallow cornflakes, sip coffee,.
give life one more try.

John Grey is an Australian born poet. Recently published in Slant, Southern California
Review and Skidrow Penthouse, with work upcoming in Bryant Literary Magazine, Natural Bridge and Soundings East.

World’s Fair 10 by Glen Armstrong

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The orchestra pit and the space-aged bear trap
Happen to be the toastmaster’s favorites

He studies the sounds of words in a vain
Attempts to protect his partner

There are several large circular platforms
and upon each a crouching figure

Time is reshaped extruded through the openings
A coarse coping skill lifts its leg

With such ease that gravity seems to have been made
Its bitch / Its best man and maid of honor

After all is said and done most of the fun
Took place back stage

Lips puckered and more than a few buttons
Launched into the void

We learned the true meaning of “loneliness”
and “genuine leather”

Day seventeen
We talk about AIDS

Day twenty-eight
We consider the lobster

The night before the closing ceremony
Someone delineates an elaborate hopscotch course
That extends from the midway to the setting sun

The night before the end of the world
We try to smile and clasp each other warmly
On the shoulders.

Glen Armstrong holds an MFA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and teaches writing at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He also edits the poetry journal Cruel Garters.

Wrong Man by Darren Cormier

~ Sophie Boyce ~ 1 Comment

Upon receiving a notice from his hometown to attend a ceremony in recognition of his
achievements, D. scribbles:

this man
this man who
this man who can’t
this man who can’t even
this man who can’t even finish
this man who can’t even write
this man who can’t even write a sentence
this man who can’t even write a sentence properly
this man who can’t even write a proper sentence
this man who can’t even write a sentence without

He throws each crumpled sheet of paper across the room toward the wastebasket, missing each
time. Another thing he can’t do.

Darren Cormier is the author of A LIttle Soul: 140 Twitterstories and the editor and creator of the collaborative project The Adventures of Tequila Kitty. His work has appeared in numerous publications including NAP, Vine Leaves Literary Journal, Amoskeag, meetinghouse, Thrice Fiction, and Opium Magazine, among many others. He lives in the Boston area with a growing collection of books.