John M. Bennett (USA): Six Poems

G RIME

s leep s lump s lap s lope s lip s lug
st wrong s hape s crambled out yr leg
p eel lost a gain st the l amp d rink yr
faucet g rime yr p ong t hing e scree king
in no win d a head yr c law c lamor iso
lection in the pantry b right with gl ants

SHO T

c hop an c hunk an c hap an c heap an ch
iselling down the gl ass your nasal dr ,poo
ling f lame s nor e ading all the pootnotes
.crusts of ,chase my s hot map pliance s
porting several hairdos .dust an spraddle ,cow
temp tation in yr hot wet s leap a cross the c lot

VIEN TO

c ling mor t ,mu tt c rag ,s hunt t ripe ,g ash
t rend you soaker shirt trembled in the win
d like )leech( trunch me now .sap buck
le ,tow el viento buzzes in yr knees a f
lock of ants an guzzlers .yr salad r ift yr
comb lag tundra falling heavy in yr b ackside

T RASH

h ip s leep b omb re turned yr eye d rain
c apped with d rench my soap lust .hock .too
sortified like rum ble ,topping ,crap an c ola
t rashed the b reach :s teddy now ,an c
rumple d rink ,yr c lung s torm muscled wit yr
stammeritis ,stoma che floating in the form ,less sky

F RIED

s tung rinser g loo ,yr p ants g low , flot
sang against the sing let wall ,yr too th anks
mud dled ,mort fried ,clot tered ,sped yr
fork us in the grave l scat tered c lanking
on the f enders ,ape the for m uttered in
yr so up coughed an s pattered on yr l ap

DE TRACTION

t ape my ling dex to yr shad ow aqua
tic s tone gut s pending d ust spotting ,fun
nel ectric s punner c loathe my sock you
orsinine re traction of yr dup eht ylf
.sh rug an di p an cr awl against the b lade
yr s haker f lopping on the floor .sneeze

David Prater (Australia): Two Poems

EXES & ZEROES

sing/ a song of/exes &
zeroes/ just one/ now
down a maple lane/we
walk/together/talk of
breaking up/getting back
together/forever/never
whatevers/slam doors/
walking through them/
first glances/second go/
looks that kill or maim/
circumstance/rhythms/
return home/clothes/off
or on/unanswered calls/
last hopes/chance/hell/
what will we remember/
& where will we be/in
fifty beers/hello there/
what's your name/mix
with wine/hello there/
it's closing time/already/
back to mine/whatever/
see you round/the trap/
or by a traffic light/some
summer afternoon/bye/
oh hi/me again/want to
catch up/sure/name the
place/or time/hang up/
memorise that number/
forget it/next time/see
a hole before stepping/
in it/close the door/&/
sing /with me /xx /oo

OH GOD!

oh god yeah god my god my oh
yes james joyce ulysses yes yes
penguin modern classics yeah
my god yes yes & a penguin oh
i'm coming over many penguins
yes more penguins yes & books
yes a book filled with penguins
yes lots & lots of poems yes oh
yes yes stop no start go yes god
oh yes leave it right there go yes
yep yep schnell yes hell yes oh
bless god yes yes yes god oh no
god no yes no ts suck my breast
eliot yes ts yes not yet go no oh
hard as hit my arse & go hard ts
go go go ts stop no go god go go
hell yes heaven no go zone that's
yes right there in english oh yes
english yes that's english oh god
pocket rocket god yes throbbing
yes wet yes oh yes molly oh god
yes blooming blooming god yes
flower fucking yes my god that's
yes yes yes not no god no god in
a knot yes not there yet stop yes
god yes god yeah no no go on &
oh yes on & on & on a river yes
yes by the river yes god on & on
like a river yes god god no don't
hold on god oh no gods all gone

Peter Philpott (UK): From "Are We Not Drawn..."

From “Are We Not Drawn…”

I'm swamped
- - - and pinched
I know what I ought to do
- - - and don't
dream of escape
- - - a ship
a different shape
- - - a landscape
a stuttering play
- - - don't trust ease
the hardness
- - - the encumbrance
to be aware
- - - the grin of this world
fight against
- - - sufficient to know
there is your hand
- - - the jar, the new
the force of this
- - - never here


*

made me angry
- - - each moment
forged anew
- - - did you think for consistency?
among the brute material
- - - how it's pushed & harmed
do you really think you could control that?
- - - oh boy, that's another era
gone
- - - wandered away from this town
everyone leaves you
- - - & their cloying love
is what actually nourishes
- - - & the occasional rage
I name this feeling
- - - my fingernail is about to fall out
am I made less
- - - how much will I lose?
at the end
- - - everything

Diana Magallon (Mexico): Three poems

"TORTON & THE BLUEBIRDS"

One person at a time
Two Worlds
affirmation/ing

Earth Mother

and all things
and all things
and all things

. Understanding
Rocks a Spirit.

”RARA AVIS”

...bird...bird...bird...BIRD...bird... a rare bird on earth as his/her
sylvan joys million and one applause ...bird... rara rara raramuri

"GULLIVER"

PACHYDERM |------| PACHYDERM |------| PACHYDERM

pachyderm footsteps edging our gracefull idyll

elephant footsteps rivet this graceful idyll
gracefull
d idi
d
ai
|||
|------| PACHYDERM |------|

Alison Croggon (USA): "Untitled"

because a day
is made of such different things
shining and avarice
many possible swords
the dust in my hair and the petals
falling from a wet sky

because every day
comes after another day
as if past and future
actually exist
and all the people I have been
sadly and beautifully dissolve
into amber, amber

there is no way back
deep in the sky
another wound opens
wars heave their famines
over every child
and all the leaves are singing
of the strange weather

AnnMarie Eldon (UK): "Unspenting D Squash Bud ST8"

UNSPENTING D SQUASH BUD ST8

ther iz a prticulr ordr 2 @}-z frm buds az f d branch cnt hold dem Enuf: DIS iz d ordr dat d branch explodes: Dormant silvR Tip grEn Tip Half Inch grEn Tight Cluster Pink Full Bloom Petal faL bt dun jst tAk my f'n wrd 4 it dun U c dEz rnt jst wrds dey' an XpreSN of

somTIN ubobvious of somTIN inexpressible caLd burstingness itz not az f DIS got actually squashed ther iz n metaphor hEr not an az f n cite simply d truth dat wntz wntz 2 git out wntz 2 burst wntz wot d old poets wud caL burst forth dat theyre c%dNt b NothA way 2 sA it dat sAN it w%dNt mAk d trEz

hold ^ dat expressing it w%dNt mAk d sap rise dat rec'vN it w%dNt mAk d branches stronger o browner thN dey actually R lIk a kds drawing grEn & phallic @ burst forth @ d top of a f'n brown trunk dat somTIN potentially shrivelled & condensed lIk a brown stiK although thick c%d GIV rise 2 such az

a pink anyfuckingthing lEst of aL a @}- & dat 2 sugest DIS hz n plAc n yor plAc n yor vocabulary whr do U b? whr do U shrink 2? how cn U hold dat :-( treeless not brown not grEn nevr 2 b pink schet inside yorself? whr do U go 2 burst? how do U lt d sky knO youre :'-(? do U cry? othR thN 2 fEl

aL fElnz condensed in2 Nuttin? & DIS Nuttin of yor - i knO i do knO itz not az f i dun knO i knO aL yor fElnz R condensed in2 1 whch isn't a fEln bt d absence of fElnz d absence of thawt iz a squashed pre-burst fuxor of a killer tng caLd guilt & i knO wot guilt duz 2 @}-z & wot d concept bud bcumz

it hpns Ovr & Ovr & Ovr & Ovr DIS squashing of a bud DIS killing of d bursting DIS blaming DIS projecting did it eva ocur 2 U dat Ech tym ther wz a strong branch U went cold & whr did U go w yor cold Xcpt in2 yor wNtR yor wNtR mode not evN ded ded & spent & im spent w it & onlE d sky cn git me out

& d trE hz n capacity 2 pA & Im out & i thawt i wz held n & Im not Im bursting DIS iz my bursting DIS almost out DIS almost spent DIS almost Thru w d bud-hope DIS cry 2 d trE god 2 puL sap i askd god 4 us sap us out b4 wer spent lst tym im gna sA it lt d guilt die & @}- bud @}- b4 im spent out 2

petal drop