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ron androla
sitting here with the internet

china & a few neutron bombs
or secret iraq biological weaponry
slews of terrorists striking countless ways
& everybody beyond the outskirts
of erie pennsylvania
was killed -- around noon today.
i have 2 fans blowing fresh
pre-apocalypse
air around this clean apartment,
& i'm chewing at
cashews from a can,
sipping cold lemon-lime soda.
2 more hours before ann
is off work. "everybody in
amerika outside of erie
is dead,"
i'll inform
her, & she'll
shake away a
little smile
for just a little while.
i'll miss the
world & all yr
poems,
not that
anybody
is listening.
devastation.
massive loss.
& the sun shines like summer here.

 
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amazon crotch cannibal

my amazon woman liked to play games
like once she said why don't you
sit on my belly and jack off and
i'll catch it in my mouth
and i complied
strangling the cyclops until
several jets of pearly cum launched
for parts unknown
overshot the runway
landed in auburn hair
she did manage to snake out
a pink tongue and lap a dribble
from her left upper lip
before grinning and complaining
of the jism in her 'do
alleging that to be a contribution
to a bad hair day
shit it's just protein baby said i
that crap you pour on in the shower
is elephant jizz
with a couple of gassed cats thrown
in for effect
everything we touch is tainted with
death you just licked millions of
babies off your lips
gone without a chance to shit or squall
tiny tadpoles laid out in microscopic
coffins placed in invisible crypts
beneath the flutter of unseen flags
a holocaust of miniature victims
crying for deliverance

 
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Jim Chandler
Cheryl Townsend
DEATH OF A POET
--for d.a. levy

We've screamed
for so many years
we've become hoarse
Laryngitis
Our voices crack
from extreme
and we fatigue
in age & expenditure
Past the age
of influential trust
we can reminisce
days of strength
When words
were our greatest weapon
and minds
were always there
A call to arms
and shared
open thought revelry
like embracing
that last gasp
of life

 
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**think of it this way**

it's too bad
for me
the way
you,
the pathetic
routine,
took my
cunt
away from
him
behind my
back
and
sure,
there were
those holiday
agonies and
the extravagant
revenge
seducing me
continually
but hey,
as you
celebrate
your foolhardy
pleasures
to the hilt
like
when
you slip
your mouth
around
his cock, think
of when
it was
in
me.

 
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cait collins

elaine thomas
deathbird

I watched a terrible dying
bird wobble across an expanse
of sun-drenched asphalt.

birds should die in flight
or fall from the grace of
a tree limb suddenly, one

moment merrily singing,
the next plummeting,
but never should they die

huddled beneath a red
car, eyes closed, swaying,
the way this one did.

afterwards I wrapped
the bird up for carrying
grassward, into velvet shade.

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Michael Hathaway
NIGHT PROBLEM

i whisper to
blind shadows
begging them to
laugh or open their
fat black eyes

but

all they do
is hang there
waiting
for the sun to
spit morning
at their faces

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black veins
turned hot with dope
churning rampant style
of silent exorcism
gateway to another plane
existance transformed
into the fluid of discovery-pharmakon
raspy knot moans
extacy of dingy grey slums
walls pulse with life and effort
blankety mist
peripheral vision
shallow breathing of labor
with still heartbeat
euphoria turns infinity
and crisp soul bleeds away
with the cool breeze of night

GOOwebsite
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goo
Scott Holdstad
Twin Towers

LA County and the Sheriff's
Deputies treat you like
human scum

i keep reminding myself
that my taxes go to their
fucking paychecks

as they lie to you,
fuck you over,
ensure you DON'T
get your meds, you
end up crazy and they
wonder why

every fuck you i got
felt like a knife in the
ribs
my ribs are still healing
from all the wounds

i'd give anything to
take one of those
fuckers one on one
in a back alley
no weapons

pussies

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Why I eat only seed-less oranges...

Someone down the hall tears
the rind of an orange and I flash
image, mine-full

the cool light fresh on our skin
lifts the sweat-glow, we are
God and goddess wrapped in wet Greek
sheets, just escaped from Zeus, the grapes
we stole, now pressed to our lips
the walls share our impulse smashed
glass and stain. Orange petals release
the days heated scent. He pulls the world out
from under my steady and opens my legs, his
hands, early explorers questing the mouth
of the motherland, sirenning mating call
to my baby-eggs high in their early nest,
lipping persuasion-they fall one by one
into his mouth, this child-less father, my
baby eggs in his mouth, now he is full

I eat only seed-less oranges...

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psgates
rohe
Girl in the hat who takes apps at the temp office

She asks and the office manager
gets her coffee
from across the street
or from down the block
coffee hunted down to the last fresh bean.
She flirts with the younger ones
opening the office door
wanting a job;
end up
come courting
run out of ink
sharpen their pencils
stand around the office
information no longer vital
just trying to keep an eye on her.

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LOVE

i submitted a love poem to the gazebo apparently it was infested with cliches
so i rewote it
several times

after 3 removals of the corny and trite
i was left with this only

just love each other

one of the staff informed me that
the word "just" was a rhetorical redundancy
so i got rid if that

another suggested that "each other"
was too non-specific
so i lost that too

so without further ado may i present my new
staff and socially approved poem

love

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trellis
Marc Ellis
POSTCARD FROM A SEASHELL
(Copyright 1999 Marc Ellis)

-----------------------------------------------

Return Address:

A Reverie
In a Small Apartment
New Orleans

 

To:

The Memory of a Lovely Girl
Who Perished At Sea
In Care of: The Vast Sky

----------------------------

POSTCARD FROM A SEASHELL

Butterflies, disguised as stones,
Disguised as seashells,
In one quiet place,
Where threads of tears,
Long ago vanished.

I remember her well;
She wept such lovely seashells,
That floated on white Asian forests,
And will forever rest,
On the radiators of owls.

 
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DREAM

I take a shit in a toilet
that can't flush.
Didn't know it was broken
at the time.
I have to shovel it out with a
toothpick and rubber gloves.
Everyone points and laughs.
My ignorance is side-splittingly funny.
I wing a log at them.
They run. I finish cleaning
the bowl. Harlan Ellison says I
did a good job. I shake his hand,
then remove the gloves.

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Craig Sernotti
Donna Hill
getting it right

you're
definitely the one
wearing the
pants
round there,
he said to
me

out of
care and
concern
for my stress levels
of late

I know
I can see it too
between
kids
and work
household and
support

I had to agree
but then thought to myself
damn,

I'll be glad when I can
wear a skirt
again

makes
things a
whole lot easier
to get
fucked
properly

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Oval Office Seance

She entered the gates this evening
donning a dress of blue.
Counting the precious moments
'til all her dreams come true.

She follows him quietly,
as they wander the east wing grounds,
moving through the darkness,
The paintings of Presidents stare them down.

The oval office door
swings open quietly.
An ear plugged agent
guards the entrance silently.

As her fantasies come to light,
and her wishes realized,
a connection to the past
is made to the "other side"

They appear in the office
dressed in distinguished attire.
Men of regal distinction
settling next to the fire

As the scene unfolds
to their shocking dismay,
Some leave in anger.
Some anxious voyeurs stay.

Washington's teeth splinter
as he grinds away with his jaw,
disbelieving what he sees,
not condoning it at all.

Jefferson's powdered wig,
displaced and left a jar,
wonder's why lasses in his day
would not go that far.

Lincoln silently brooding,
lowered head in disgust,
"I hope my bedroom isn't tainted
by this obsessive lust!"

Franklin whispers to Teddy
in his flipped out bully ears
"My Gawd! explosions like that
could've shortened the war by years"

JFK reaches for a cigar
sittin' lonely on the desk,
"My boy I could have enjoyed that one
but I'll pass cause it's a mess."

Bobby watches in excitement
as she starts to beg for more
"She doesn't hava' thing on Marilyn,
but she reminds me of a whore."

Nixon smiling in his chair
as the fire keeps him warm
thinkin' back to his turbulent days
and the calm before the storm.

The show is over for today
and the voyeurs fade to dusk.
One lonely muse still hangs around
lingering about his bust.

JFK reflecting on
his days in "Camelot",
"I had my times with Marilyn
but no problems smoking pot." "Did I set the precedent
for this moral misdemeanor,
or did I just open the door
for others to be "cheaters"?"

"Or was it just a tradition
that I openly "time honored",
with little regard for prestige
of our famous fore fathers."

He faded in to darkness
leaving thoughts of dirty deeds.
The wanting of flesh desired
and fulfilling sexual needs.

Little did these lusters
ever ponder in their mood,
the office of the president
stained by a dress of blue.

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R L Stephenson
Jamie B.Lepore
Just one DAy in hell~The Fatal Mistake*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ya I did alot a dancin through ya dirty streets
- through all thE... laughs
- Through the pain
but ,,,,no,,,scary day of february
-can ever kiss ,,,,the BETRayal of ,,,,,,,JUnE)
- So oblivious ....yet so damn awake
finally realize the worlds gone ______MaD*
-A quiet niTE^ depressed yet sooooo dramatic
-Lucy calls friend ,,",drag queen Eric"..
- on the telephone....so..SAd...so..MAd...
but hes tryin on bras
-has no time..and...
- Eric calls cops instead,,,,,,,
- no holdin lucy near
unware ,,,,,Lucy....says...
-okay..lets ,,,,,,,log on ,,internet shup bop
-sha..al..la..la.la..Then!....
"Hard knocks"
-scary socks
- men in navy
should i think there scarY?
-they smoke
-as they play my guitar
guns at theyre sides
-kickin through......my life
--Brace- Lucy ,,knows........this aint right!
in,,brace...PainST? is there law?????
-Facade fades
-as cold clasps
-go click click click
round my wrists
-I cry no not me!
- a mistake a sorts
but they cant see
- innocent BEaT
-A marked Lucy walks cuffed in the streets
an the neighbors ,,,gather popcorn
-Front row seats
-- : -Threw lucy in a cell
where she sang for a spell
-- mo-town
-- and wind ,,,,,,,blow ,,,,,wind ,,,,,,,
so as not to sink
- to the brink
-of exclusions
while pushed against a wall
-legs kicked wide
-Lucys hugs ,,,,Brace.....for her ..Strength ,,,inside,,,,,,,
From cell to shining car
-Handcuffs carry ~~~~~~far
-Against all will
Brace---trapped,,,,,,,,
-PainSt?....whatta ya say bout that?
-Horrid smells
- to protest is..... HELL
For i protested ,,,,,,,for ,,,,,a ....cigarette..........
-While shortly after
-ThE nurse ,,,,,,sorta mental ,i believe
5 black men
Corners Lucy in the lighted halls
-steppin on my feet
-rubber gloves
She tried to escape!
The insanity!
Lucy thought!":thiS is not a moviE!"
-Me, Lucy ,,,,in,,,,,Brace
....painST? - fragile to be held
down__soo,,,,,hard
-BY monsters of the night-didint go easy!~~~~~
didnt knock me out the shots of ,,,,,,,quiet
-The determination ,,,,,,,in Brace
- this fatal ,,,mistake
didnt knock me out the shots of ,,,,,,,quiet
-the determination ,,,,,,,in Brace
-this fatal ,,,mistake
And will they say theyre sorry??
My over dramatic freind Eric?
-Or the cops who played my fender?
-or the monsters who attacked me..with
needles in my back

- : -- I look around ...Waiting to leave
-one niTE^ one mistakE^
- I see the poor bastards
-Cryin in theyre beds
~I played basketball before i left
that... morning
a poor bastard awakes
from under the tree
stumbles to the ho0ps
Falls flat on his face
inside-Brace-OH damn it,,PainST!!
- I see the nurses and wonder ,,,,this......
-( To be..able to determine ,,,,,,,,,illusion from reality)
- (truth from a lie)
This is something.....the best of us ..
..sometimes..can never,,,,,,,,win.....*
- - As I encountered ..........insanity....
from people i felt" were safe an,,,sane"
I wonder who should really be locked up*
-SAD.. to find out.........
-the outsides ....looking in,,,,,,,,,
scary days ....of june*
-Princess-Brace- inBrACE__to Lucy*
-Princess-Brace- ++++++++++++++++++++
BrACE
(Mistake_no_Apology _was ever _made_)
As I sit safe home _an_Smoke_1 day..later.
.. 1 scary nighT..1 scary morning in junE...)
((talking to freinds can be dangerous)))
*The Baker AcT^*=The Fatal Mistake*
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Brace For ..Lucy,,,your the dearest.....
!Thing in the world to me....*
Signed: Bracelets_HELL

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