Bob Dylan is Dead

by Melanie Browne

He got tangled
up
in truth

Folk Angels
wearing pink
hot pants
hitch rides
across the desert

The fuchsia flowers
drip from
their hair

Dead rock gods
fly over
the night sky,

sad & blue

while
palm trees
quiver
& beat
their tambourines

Rain in L.A.

by Sean Pravica

a rain cloud over Los Angeles
brooded like a rebel
boasting a storm
and taunting the drivers
who are suddenly young children again
taking baby steps
not quite sure what to do
and a little scared
though they’d rather not admit that
except maybe to their mothers

depends on what kind of car they drive
what job they hold
and how much gas is in the tank of their gut
that is
how much of their lives
they can actually stomach
if we could run away forever
or drive on an endless highway
we might still fear we’d slip
and let up the ghost
of our vulnerability
before a sky that knows better
knows that already

in this hot place
a sun bright enough to illuminate the buildings
mirrors everywhere for smitten people
examining the objects of their affection
in passing glass surfaces
the sky can’t always hold back its tears
even though it’s tougher here
having seen the dreams lost
and others become
only to slip away
back into the reflective face of a bank
untouchable
and lost
behind the fake marble
while the rain begins to fall
and drizzle along the sidewalk
the smell of the street rising
time to go home
and face the traffic

Soul Effort

by Brenda Blakey

His was a fool’s dream
To wish for her requited love.
He had failed before but
This time he would succeed.
One last whisper in prayer then,
While his body slept on goose down,
His spirit hovered over her house;
He wrenched out his heart completely.
It salted over her sleeping form.
Now she would return his love.
But, unfortunately, he would no
Longer have the heart for it.

Four Poems

by Suchoon Mo

Awakening

a cat barks
a mouse farts
the sound of awakening
in silence
the buddha meditates

Sin

whenever she sings
she omits "g"
she sins

d

ever since she met david and married him
she has been stuttering at d

d-d-d-david
d-d-d-damn you!

d-d-d-
d-d-d-

Duet

together two women sing
one sings a serenade
the other sings an elegy
they sing a same song
they sing a requiem