Andrea Gibson
…if I ever feel far away know I am not gone. — Andrea Gibson, from “Royal Heart,” Truce (2013)
…if I ever feel far away know I am not gone. — Andrea Gibson, from “Royal Heart,” Truce (2013)
We are ghosts / hungry for something bigger than what our mouths are kissing — Anis Mojgani, from “The Branches are Full and These Orchards are Heavy.” Rattle #27, Summer 2007.
Make love to melike you know I am better than the worst thing I ever did. ― Buddy Wakefield, “We Were Emergencies,” Gentleman Practice. (Write Bloody Publishing April 15, 2011)
You can take this mouththis wound you wantbut you can’t kissand make itbetter. ― Daphne Gottlieb, from “Why Things Burn,” Why Things Burn. (Soft Skull Press; First Edition edition May 10, 2001)
The Quiet World In an effort to get people to lookinto each other’s eyes more,and also to appease the mutes,the government has decidedto allot each person exactly one hundredand sixty-seven words, per day. When the phone rings, I put it to my earwithout saying hello. In the restaurantI point at chicken noodle soup.I am adjusting… Continue reading Jeffrey McDaniel
Slow Dance Some days I can go nearly an hourwithout thinking of the tasteof your mouth. Right now, I’m at schoolwatching teenagers fidget through a test.Outside, the sky is smoky and streets are wetand two grackles step lightly in yellow grass. Two weeks ago in Atlantic CityI stood on the boardwalkand looked out across the… Continue reading Tim Seibles
I am not looking for roses.I want to break like a fever.I want to break like the Berlin Wall.I want to break like the cloudsso we can see every fearless star,how they never speak guardrail,how they only say fall. — Andrea Gibson, from “Pole Dancer,” Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns. (Write Bloody Publishing June 1,… Continue reading Andrea Gibson
We just have too much lightning crammed into our hearts. Just want someone to put her ear to our chest and tell us how far away the storm is. — Lauren Zuniga, from “Dear Lemon Engine II,” The Smell of Good Mud. (Write Bloody Publishing; First Edition edition March 15, 2012)
Conviencience Stores We both know the smell of a convenience store at 4 a.m. like the backsof alotta hands. She sells me trucker crack/Mini-Thins (it’s like Vivarin).She doesn’t make me feel awkward about it.She can tell it’s been a long drive and it’s only gonna get longer.Offers me a free cup of coffee, but I never… Continue reading Buddy Wakefield
Despair has a loose daughter.I lay with her and read the body’s boneslike stories. I can tell you the year-long mythof her hips, how I numbered stars,the abacus of her mouth. — Natalie Díaz, from “Prayers or Oubliettes,” When My Brother Was an Aztec. (Copper Canyon Press; 59016th edition May 8, 2012)