- 
          The Parade Is Not Diplomacy
 by Stephen Ira on July 17, 2017
 There’s an egg in the dark 
 and somebody talking to you.
 An egg in the dark and a man—
 you—under the shut sun.When somebody calls you all light up 
 and walk the shores in rows
 like untrustworthy mushrooms.
 You are more scattered than a rowand devour the flank 
 after the battle. You take it down together
 and peel back the flank
 of the animal. Fur glued to paper.Paper glued to the backs of your hands. 
 “It’s like it nourishes me.”
 You finally get to be sad like the moon,
 together. Everybody is mad at each other!You don’t know them! You 
 know the sand. It’s thick,
 like silt. Your characters exit,
 presumably to have sex.You finally believe your luck 
 sitting across from a great actress, who says,
 “Being with other people will ruin your life.
 Always should, always has to, always will.”
 
- 
          Some Spirits Have Been around Longer Than Other Spirits
 by Daniel Handelman on July 14, 2017
 The universe is doing well. There are many planets. There are many planets we cannot see. Planets with names like MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb. In the Milky Way galaxy there are 100 to 400 billion planets. If you want to name a planet you can. Name it anything you want. A person on Earth looks at a computer screen. The person is Larry Page. Larry Page has named two planets. Larry Page is looking at his computer screen thinking about eternity, non-existence, prostate cancer. Larry Page is going to die. In his next life, he hopes to be a Solitary Eagle, Harpyhaliaetus solitarius. He will live in South America, soar above the Peruvian rain forest. Elsewhere, a person in a two-bedroom house watches a movie and laughs. Another person hides under a blanket and reads. Between the visible stars are more stars. Between Larry Page and the tree is twenty feet. Between Larry Page’s mind and the world is his skin. 
 
- 
          where was i
 by CRIME on July 14, 2017
 back then u were 
 pulling webs out of a spideri digged graves 
 subsisted on bonescrushed tomatos 
 to stain my lips red
 
- 
          SOMETIMES THERE ARE MEN
 by Katie Burke on July 10, 2017
 I suck my teeth at you 
 and hear the clinking of keysa lemon in my mouth I used to be forgiven 
 but now I am notan edge 
 that rounded itselfthere are windows everywhere I go 
 but I hardly ever count themI have never felt closer to god 
 than when I smile at a TV show
 or maybe a childthe best things 
 are when it is quiet
 and I am aloneI already know what your mouth tastes like: 
 the forest floorin short, 
 wet.
 
- 
          city
 by Sunday Fall on July 7, 2017
 I. city 
 Where lives are controlled thru threats
 Drugs and violence. The audience
 hold crosses. Its ignorance holds
 Down the universe twisting fingers. At night
 My arms hold multi colored crystals. My black
 Gloves like a symbol of God holds the addicts.
 My friend’s think I’m a painter.II. 
 My name is Sunday. I survived
 Being a movie star. I felt pain too much
 To be embarrassed. I’ve been the unemployed
 Friend. Quiet dark and wrinkled. On
 My stomach to soften my hunger. Good bye
 Not the final word. If you believe that.III. 
 And suddenly
 Breaking into sunrise. I came crying.
 I repeated all that happened. I was
 In back seat when the car pulled over.
 An explosive human stampede
 Happening on my ribs and head
 Police stripped me out two grams
 And dragged along the empty street
 My lips wet with blood, I thought,
 This my murder.IV 
 Dying is an ancient disgrace like painting
 Poetry art literature. It’s dumb. When I wake
 Up. Tell me you will reach. Tell me you will
 Recognize. Tell me you will take
 me to bed instead of your husband.V. 
 The faint sound of sirens connects me
 To this place. It’s a place that reminds us
 Of Egypt. The children chew tobacco weed
 Leaves
 And marshmallows produce a sap
 Used to heal wounds. Everyone watching
 Everyone.
 
