black on white—
a raven's footsteps
on new snow
                   - patrick m. pilarski

dance twirls a bright blade,
cleaves deep through fabric / soft flesh;
presses heart to heart
                   - patrick m. pilarski

red satin / legs twine,
dart quick as smoky heels meet
smolder; freeze; tango
                   - patrick m. pilarski

slow twilight fluid;
sweat and heat and bodies pass;
eyes flash fire – rumba
                   - patrick m. pilarski

wings shift cold clear air,
softly beat in three/four time;
waltz – a heart takes flight
                   - patrick m. pilarski

ice is poetry
blunt punctuation, hard thoughts;
words – sharp as angles
                   - patrick m. pilarski

tall black stilettos
fuck-me shoes back in fashion
STDs rising
                   - jocelyne verret

more rain:
the cat shreds another
paper bag
                   - kelly shephard

dark streaks on concrete;
black rain washes the gutters–
poison in the wound
                   - patrick m. pilarski

blue-eyed blond school girl
luminous smile camouflage
for misshapen leg
                   - jocelyne verret

house the color of butterflies:
paint chips and flutters away
                   - kelly shephard

snow falls like feathers;
down to diamonds, pressed tight–
no room for a soul
                   - patrick m. pilarski

hiroshima blooms
on a dark day in august;
five petals falling
                   - patrick m. pilarski

spotty memories
dot minds, alzheimer rubs out
the connecting lines
                   - jocelyne verret

trying to tune in
a song of the soul but my
reception is bad
               - laurie macfayden

in an old diary
between pages—
withered rose
                   - lanie shanzyra p. rebancos

still alive
under all that ice—
the mountain stream
                   - patrick m. pilarski

endless prairie sky
nowhere to hang memories
only beginnings
                   - jocelyne verret

i want one hard kiss
one barefoot dance in paris
when the lights go out
               - laurie macfayden

under the water
sunlight above
kaleidoscope
                   - lanie shanzyra p. rebancos

where we were is mist,
where we're going is mist,
only this place
                   - kelly shephard

under the van gogh
starry night is too cliche
let's make it renoir
               - laurie macfayden

fish-market men
take their time putting up tents,
let the rain wash the ocean off
                   - kelly shephard

my hair looks greyer
in the autumn morning light
mirrors can be cruel
               - laurie macfayden

your aftershave climbs
the stairs ahead of your steps
i inhale pleasure
                   - jocelyne verret

in the foxhole
a pair of soldier's boots
yearns to come home
                   - lanie shanzyra p. rebancos

day five in paris
dog shit on both pairs of shoes
still it beats working
               - laurie macfayden

dead bird under window
maybe found its clearer, brighter place
after all
                   - kelly shephard

a soldier’s parents
answer call from ottawa
hoping for wounded
                   - jocelyne verret

cigarette butt smoking on the sidewalk:
ants gather around,
a new religion has begun
                   - kelly shephard

the air is on fire.
hades belches; furies dance;
buildings melt like wax.
                   - patrick m. pilarski

grandfather's cologne:
pipe tobacco, peppermints
and ivory soap
               - laurie macfayden

mom says wear a dress
my brothers get to wear jeans
who made this dumb rule?
               - laurie macfayden

my tree house is filled
with comicbooks and capguns
no barbies allowed
               - laurie macfayden

dad says stay inside
play piano for grandma
what's the point she's deaf
               - laurie macfayden