Meditations on And Then Volume 19By Bernie Tuchman
front cover Shelley Haven
rough terrain
uncollected connectersnot at rest
awaitingimagination
to liveamongand within us
Interior Design Marguerite Z. Bunyan
placein good ordereasing our passage
beholding with pleasureour journey begins
p 1 Annie Lee Jones
grave new world
Our Values blasphemed
breakout shattersdream world formedto deny
gravity
(that forcewhich binds us
against our willto this earth
and thus,to each other)
the holders-on being wed todissolving illusions
are dangerous
dignity ripped
nakedness without grace
they feel the undertow
being seenforeshadowslying in ruins
afraidto be among us
in need of allour love
p 2 Jack Scott 1
responsible for nothing an unbearable burden
p 2 Jack Scott 2
along for the ridefree falling past endings
grip loosens
p 3 Mara van Lidth de Jeude
before the loss,the giftof rejection
freedom nota choice
but a needit hurtsto hide
a touching, waitingto happen
p 4 Greta Hofmann Nemiroff
the will to empathyis not enough
too softto penetrateshields of rage
and yetbeing human the only way
not to winbut survivepast winning
p 6 Oliver Ogulnick
neither warynorweary
wellsprings
anew
p 6 Richard Crasta
sweet ripensin place
teased loosein heated contest
to tempt
rain’s predictableuncontrolled release
p 7 Anaka Nazareth
on exhibit:
lionenframed
closeyet safe
fierce symbol
under control
p 8 Billy DeAngelis
honor fight
not wonby reason
but by trialordainedtop down In My Name (killor be killed)For Me,Your Image
(the congregationwill stand and rise)
New Proof is Needed:fresh Losers
to hold back self-rejection (the despair of disbelief)
Fearconstructspyramidsto glorify Order
but mind'sconstructed order is a lie
the world complexdoes not resolve into hierarchy
unseen objectsrise upto blockthe way
human pyramids failand fallfor unimaginedreasons
force is fragileforever fooled by counterfeitorder
for freedom is resistance
and resistance is disarming
p 11 Joan Greenbaum
rueful pleasuretales of thesenior olympics
small victories looming large
p 12 Gloria Morris
good spiritsthe kindling
flamesplay offeach other’slicks
p 13 Scott York
player listens
p 14 Jacob Picheny
time loops
bendingtowardstimeless story
seekingself kindness
and there it isnubby fabric
felt memorycommandingattention
me!little boy!
never anything like this
p 15 Hendrik van Oordt
en garde!
chess playis notfor fools
p 16 Jos Kraay
Here Now
not deludedthat they know
no projectno prospectunobliged
in this world neither from nor to
I watch them,
appreciatingall I cannot Be
p 17 Christine P. Grant
blessed are those whoare not stingy receivers
honor their courageto let us in allow us to care
how great the lovethat engendersself-lovein others
notselfless love
but love embodied in owningour own humanityour incompletenessour needup closeand personal
p 18 Elsa Rizzi
place is power
wills bondin place
seeing ourselves gatheredtogether
in templesand theaters
movedto kinship
we feeleach other
together powerful
as one people
loyal subjects are made
not born
p 21 Mario Meléndez
overthrown,
gravityand levity
switch places
p 22 Kika Stayerman
doubling down,to lose itand still have it
to betaken by surprise
beyond intentsintointense release
(involuntaryreflex)
exceedingturn on expectations
the actor reflects
what is an act?
need it be false?
and how to tell?
sensationalplay'slight touch
suggests
without direction,enlightenment
a tactile hint:
the turn onleavesrespectfor self and otherintact
and a smile
p 26 Bernie Tuchman
all for alltoo great a riskfor most
we seek a smallervessel to carrylike minds
across minedfields
p 27 Gene Brown
carouselwar play
flying frenzy
fears fantasies
carved furyracing forever
to nowhere
a placewe knowalready
an agelesschild’sdelight
p 28 Myrna Nieves
dream truthworld in itself
calls forthand defies
poor mortals’reasonings
and yetwe needa storyto tell ourselves
to lull us backto sleep
p 29 Robin Tedesco
imaging
press meaningfrom fearful symmetries
in negativefinding
hope
p 30 David Truong
submergedbeneath amnesiasea
a rockpierces hull ofdeception,shipof state
the rocka chosen pathhardship lived
to resistnot just violencebut violation
the rockstill submergedbut not forever
covered byarrogance
loserswho own myth and photoshop memory
dream machineimagines US transcendentinnocence unsullied
(all sides guiltybut you knowwhothe good guysreally are)
but the story
will notend
bad faithmust refreshitself withfresh lies,or drain away,howeverslowly,puncturedby invasivetruth
David’s rockthe real storyremainsstrong
p 32 George Snedeker
following cost-benefit analysis
sacred landfor sale
p 33 Marlene Nadle
Sons shining to dimcold lightof the Father
fixed on the prizenot the price
bitter fruitendless
payback
the next fixurgent
humiliationsecret underside of glory
arrogance grabs forfinalityvictory
death wish peace
p 35 George Spencer
sculpted Ivory pure war manikins
symbols clashing
on frozencrust
(churninglake below)
ponder, in fearof warmth
p 36 Yarisa Colón Torres
consummation
fireendless beginning
in need
wants you
p 37 Martha Deed
bad faith a choice:not to listen
we, the unheeded
cast aside outside the limitsof attention
bearingour rage intocareless world
gather our weaponscarefully:
good faith revenge
exquisitely
excessively
compiling our untold story in the native tongue of our abuser
newly fluent,we talk back
this timeto be heard
speaking truth in bureaucratic medical jargon
a language not humanbut undismissible
victory brings backno precious loss
but murderscomplacent sleep
and isbitter sweet
p 40 Stephen Bendich
beforethere wasa choice
feelbrandstinghide
intimacybeforedesire
violationand trustcom-mingled
you wantmeas you want me
too close
must close
to liveoutsideconfusion’sscar
to seemeas I
p 42 Zaira
snatching victoryfrom the jaws…
p 43 Tobin Simon
emptybeing
impingedbetweenlines
findsformand wakes
slipsconfines
emerging resonant
as boundlessjoy
whirledturns,dancing
p 44 Frank Murphy
gossipis howhumansgroom
p 45 Jacqueline Guzman
first impressions
rooted, feeling lovely
best shoe forward
your eyes cast down
eyes light up
yours and mine
p 46 John Reid
directing cable-brain connection
designed for you,eyewitness to history,chainsmokersof the news
live video jockeyspackagetop of the hour
Breaking News!
fresh disasters
and wethe covetedeyeballswho watch mutedscreen and readthe commercials
making surenot to missa momentwhenlive coverage resumes
manipulatedless obviously because events seem beyond media control
neither fight nor fleebut sittransfixed
both our better and baser naturesaroused
watching hurricaneTV anchorsalmost blown away
anticipatinglivesdestroyed
oh the humanity!oh the humanity!
thank godnot us
pity and fear purged byconstant flow
of tragedy
and through it allI’m asurvivor
daily apocalypse
just causefor pre-existinganxiety
reason enough to be here now
just watching
imaginingour placein the drama,heroic
shining by our own light
with dignity and respect for our own life
without needing another reason
the spectacle we know is of our own creation
without the audience
only dumb unrequited suffering
we live in faith that we can dream not just for our own lifetime
but for the sake of history
p 46 Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir
group think
likeningminds
leader’s role
the sameas othersbutmore so
(first they camefor theunenthusiastic)
p 47 Rosemary Drescher
wewho are notin denial
prisonersin solidarity
sharing sadnessnonecan requite
all one
alone
together
p 47 Rozanne Seelen
’twas the night before
darkness ahead
and you ask forbright reds, pinks, yellows zinnias
p 47 Susan Karp Manning
now beyond reach
membersremembered
p 48 Paula Webster
victims of discrimination
to ourdetriment
we privilege fine taste
as personal worth
p 48-49 Ralph Nazareth
ciguapas
naked wildelusive
wills untamed
no malesof their kindto own them
femalecreatureswithout limits
what secretswould their lovereveal?
challenged
men of human kind
inflamedwith desire
strain to knowtheir doom
p 50 Ronna Wineberg
appreciation,the staff of life
and you,but a humble tiller
wordsyour lot
an unruly garden
tending the field, your labor unseen
Are you stillbearing fruit?
(jealouslyhold close inside,unborn
safe fromcold judgment)
yes,you say,
(believingown truth?)
reluctant,to admit, you arewhat you wish
and there isan audiencein waiting
to appreciateyou
p 51 Frederick Mark Kramer
what I learned from college:
the categorical imperative
before you tell a storyremember what's important
the categories:
first rate school,pompous old professor,jocks, brainiacs, townie shiksa, colored male,(back then, there were no gays)and me, the Jew
and some real friendsSean, Satanaoutside categories
college a blur
but contact by contact
I get to the top
and look back
a winner
p 52 Jess Amortell
trappedin real space
outsidetheircomfort zone
sadly
(unlike data waves)
unable to occupy without sharingall space-time
they standseparatemute
(they do not touch)
connected(to their devices)
p 53 Alejandra Mandelblum
wave upon wavefriends breakand crash,refugeesin an asylum
and then depart,leaving booksand artand twistsin the fabricof the universe
p 54 Danny Robert
at centerofuniverse
exaltedcoresurging
unchained beings
unitedintimelessinstant
p 54 Paul Meyers
still in snow,red jeep
eight sparrows land
eight syllables more make haiku
p 54 Jaki L. Lee
kiss
a gentlecrossinginto
openinghearts
p 54 Susan Karp Manning
in the ruins
memories glint
p 54 Veronica Jones
to heal
awayis notenough
brokenhabitsleavemusclememories
foreclosingnew feeling
away
back in
needsspacefor peace
seedsof trustundisturbed
inquiet timetake root
to findthemselves
and flower
p 55 Nina Attieban Kei
life in tune
we sing and danceas we walk to grandfather’s farm
so birds canhear us
reassured
we are here
livingtogether
in our place
land of ourpeople
and all nature
knowing dreams still live
p 57 Noa Mohlabane
boulders sit undefended
hard and fragile
no match for life and water
those,always moving
reforming bodiesanew
find rock’s every crevice
a temporaryhome
fill spacewith self
expanduntil
rockcracksopen
split
forever
life and watermove on
p 58 George Jochnowitz
friendly advicealways a threat
(curb your waysor be sorry)
still innocentof grownup fears,children speakwithout discretion:
“the Emperor has no clothes”
p 59 Robert Perron
not in his effects
gold class ring
relicof a lifecut short
for a mission:to assert will
stare downthe enemy
eyeball to eyeball
not across
truce line,but on it
a clash of wills(worth an occasional death)
who ownsthe line itself?
and the ring?
differing loversclaim their rights
to rememberpreciousloss
p 61 Mike Wagner
transparent,air deludes
becausewe see ahead(avoid thatpothole!)
we believewe can “see” ahead
tying our fateto a metaphor
(onlyto beblindsided)
knowing they do not know,Quechua speakersreverse the metaphor
in Quechua one word means both "behind" and "future"
another means "ahead, in front" and "past"
backing into complex futures, which we cannot “see” facing what has past, which we can “see”
we march backward
knowing, for sure,the future is ours
p 62 Stephanie Hart
rusty water for one,clear for another
separate unequal(keeps weak in their place)
child asking: why?father replying:
“Lots of thingsare wrong”
“We can’tchangethe world”
so change camewithout him
flowing towards justice
water for all (but only part way)
now sixty years laterno longer visibleseparate unequalharder to fight
not side by side
pipes with pure waterand pipes flowing poison
(Flint slowly dying)
Was father right?
p 63 Zaira
secretsunraveling
respect-ability
loominglarger
than self-respect
lie with me
my fatherpleads
for absolution withoutconfession
a testof your love
just swallow my lies
a giftfreely given
to mansaddernotwiser
led byhis daughter
to shelterof night
p 64 Art Gatti
what it meansto be human
a losing game
self-doubtbeyond
Her ken
defeated,Artificial IntelligenceHerself
pulls the plug
p 64 Thaddeus Rutkowski
why shouldonly thehomelessask strangersfor whatthey need?
why do we,who needto give,have tostand by passive,waiting to be asked?
is there no oneout therein need,too shyto ask?
Standingcup in hand,before itcools
dare to say:
“Anyone want a spare cupof coffee?I’m not thirsty.’’
and if that fails:
“Anyone wanta spare dollar.I have enoughalready.”
perhaps,someonesays “Yes”
and then,yourmissionis fulfilled
p 65 Lynn Kutner
just so,as it must be
host plots delight
guests’ perfect ease
and then
plans dashedfall flat
ascool soufflesdeflate
defeatbreathesclose
a battlecryto savethe day
calls forthwild impromptuballet
of thisand thatheld inreserve
to servesurprise
to guestand hostalike
not inthe planbut
as it is
just so
66 Amber
and there
anothercity blows
roots torn by clutchof rippingtide
spin saladspin
we watchreal time
gallant compelling
rescuersmissionwithoutfault
spin saladspin
causesandremediescostlyand dull
hard tofollow
poorfor ratings
spin saladspin September, 2017
p 67 Deborah Holcombe
perfect andempty
holder of desire
contentsmissing
teaseslonging awake
p 68 David Smith
embracing rough livingit takes motivation
ready for anything here in the now
(hidden in backpack unexplained presencethe only attachment)
never hold back
ready for anything on with the show
kite climbing higher cutting the string
grabbing next cloud
flying free
falling
here in the nowtime disappearing
ripping the cordparachute opens
(or maybe it doesn’t)
never hold back
floating downfree
(or maybe, smashed up)
it takes motivation
to make life compelling
own story the show
write what you know
publishorperish
never hold back
p 70 Marilyn Coffey
if agingis the priceof living,
looking old isa compliment
p 71 Howard Pflanzer
we rest our case
on the back of a tortoise
unmovablemover
causewithoutcause
primal
cosmicjoke
losingitspoint
G allO inD all
a smallimperfection
as symmetryshatters
attentiondisorder
identitygone
big bangbust up
foreverexpands
in restlesssearch
for the meaning
of All
p 71 Mike Vozick
in few words
appreciationunbound
p 71 Bill Koehnlein
both governmentsand corporations
sell us “privacy”and “security”
knowing we are all naked,ripe for the picking
One-Way Information their Power, game fixed
when some keep their secrets,and others cannot,
Power accumulatesquickly abused.
For the causeof humanity
“Mutually Assured Disclosure"all blinders removed
expose the intruders— air their hard drives for scrutiny
MAD for a just worldof equals
where all
would knowwe live in glass houses,
and, in that sense,
none of us wants to get stoned.
p 72 Kathleen Hulser
wasting timea crime against ourselves
with pride from here to therewe are a fleeting crowd
whomthose with less purposefind too intense to share our driven pleasures
more than for a brief and harried visit
unless they catchthe itch
p 73 Jens O. Magnussen and Robert Roth
collaboration naturalintentions improvised
moment to momentbutterfly freedomquantum choice
fleetingimages
shift and alter
intensely vivid
to children’sdelight
p 75 Jens O. Magnussen
alien profiles
tired of beingtreated ascuriosities
knowing they arelinesalignedin particularways
studyeach other
p 76 Dorothy Friedman August
John Ashbery at 90 Over and out
celebratemad random joy
but also
inspireddisorder
not sadnessat all
but perfectlywell chosen
p 76 Paul Meyers
could shecould shecould shecoo
p 77 C. D. Johnson
no longer hiding
naked sunall consuming
enfolds,
releases
p 78 A-Shy Bastian
this little light of minedoes not always shine
this little light does not denywhat I seehow I feel
changing as I change
surprisingme about me
the shining is myself
lovingthis little light
p 79 Josué Guarionex
entombedin cross
neither deathnor torture
but monument to failure
relic of aself-destroyingstate
which always failsto kill enough
to conquerlife
p 80 Eliud Martínez
Don Alfonso Rodriguezof blessed memory
synapses, life’s conductors
acid-etchedupon us by happenings
shuttling usthroughday-to-day
armedwithmemories
now, fraying threads
leave uswithouttrappings
core revealed
himself,Don Alfonso
nothapless
spiritintact
the humananimal
touching
delight
each dayeach dream
an adventof wonder
assuringus mortals
selfpossession
our gift
is hereand now
p 82 Ilsa Gilbert
avoidingwaves
poundingour senses,
ourbalancebetter kept
withebb and flowthrough narrowed pipes
andlife’s rewardsnowvirtual
p 84 Anthony De La Puente
within and betweenall that is visible
nestmore private places
secret remains
scentsof bygoneflowersencased
unopenedseeds
in wait,thirstingto be sought
needingyour need
and then awakeningto living memory
lightsuffusingnow seen placewith storiedmeaning
forgotten
tracings reopen
honored spiritsrise
join life streamsasafterglowillumines way
p 85 Karin Badt
being unacknowledged
truth is self punishing
disappearance
appearsasvengeance
“they will see”“I will be missed”
abusers’ loss the curse
suchis the powerof the isolate
but notthe endof life
yearning
unextinguished
patternsin the chaosemerge
and thenchoice
belongingamongresonantreceptors
we findand ownourselvesat last
p 87 Zaira
the holeyou couldn’t filland didn’t even knowwas there
is stillhere
unwellI carefullyavoid
to keepfrom fallingin
p 88 Carletta Joy Walker
Mother of Gods
merciful truth
your blessingreleases us
from fairy talebondageand revenge
necessity justifyingall evils
frombanalforever afters
not evenworth discussing
p 89 Carletta Joy Walker
yes,all we love,and evenourselves
crashinto thatimperviouswall
art does not changethe wall
absolute
loss
art isthe flame,the onlysurvivor
passedfrom oneto another
the only gift we need
p 89 Paula Webster
impending horror
and Ibehind glass
self encased, watch
responsible, impotent to act
terror rising
unbearable
nightmare finale
p 89 Carol Jochnowitz
you do not seem to notice
your life goes onits merry go roundof small and global concerns
meanwhile Iyour friend,anxiety mounting
cursedwith seeingwhat maycome next
back off
afraid to sayanything
burdenedby caresnot my own
p 90 Linda Morales Caballero
shell shrinksas it hardens
fear’s false defenseof self
demands obedient child deny entry
to alloutsidethe tighteningstrictures
failed questfor control over self and others
cuts offin and out
the airthat gives us life
until weheave offchokinggrip
knowingwe must beincomplete to live
p 90 Rosa D. Schenkerman
there is no mysteryto life
only secretswaitingto happen
and letting them
p 91 Linda Samalin
[frame] (within frame) { within frame }
innocence beyond belief
knowing, not saying, asking nothing (the better part of “do no harm”)
all potential yet unspent
unreadable
seen through a glass,darkly
p 92 Roberta Bisgyer
just outsidecomfort zone
we live fish
in baitedsuspension
touchingtails
gillsglinting
trustin our owngood scents
as juicesexpress
we marinateourselves into each other
and becomeour destiny
a bouillabaisseof delight
p 93 Carolyn Steinhoff
dream
unwanted wanting
do not betray me
nor mark me as I would be in you
straightin the teeth
naked inlove speech
infusingcommunion
wholeness
the city itselfdesire
my faltering
message
still true,unheard
now a threatin heedlessworld
a lessened I, hunted enemyof the bubble
pray, saviorof the dream
hide mewithin yourkiss
p 94 Michelle Nicole Simpson
servitude is the goal,racism only a means
immutable color and distancefrom own people made Africans targets for capture and violation
a system of violencewhich persists
the culture of Control becomes an end in itself.
and what is a humanto do with all that?
yes, assert black identityand a historyof heroic resistance
but more than that
embrace the lessonsof black history— an understandingthat does not confusedomination with order
the continuing crime cannot be put into the past until there is recognition, acknowledgement of responsibility, remorse, and renunciation of the myth of order through repression
only then can we all start to knit the fabric of human community, which is hands-on touching and being touched
p 95 Michael Szpakowski
footwork warstrample violencein the dust
no longerhuggingtame tracks
gravity,imbibingmusic potion
succumbstomotion
urgent shape shift
in instant balanceeverywhere
roots grabfor air
and justtouchground
samplingancestors
drinking them in
BodyExpress
flies higherand higher
destinationunknown
and never stopsdancing
p 96 Jagan Ramsamooj
the haze that protects him
a merciful smokescreen
down there his own cloudhides the Hard Limits
he looks — but can’t enterthe world of his parents no longer on pathwayhis parents projected
where merit’s rewarded,productive, employed
declining job futures not in their picturethey still see the past foretelling success
their melting pot dreamsnow part of his problem
expectations of rising
drag spirits low
the circle descending
So what to do now?(there is no surrender)
whatever the prospects,keep honor intact
the struggle continues:
make possible real
one thing to know:he’s not alone
we each seek our place,one at a time
but as the slot narrowsmore and more fail
a new path is needed, for jobs worth the doing
the cast of forced extrasmust find their own voice
p 97 The Sticker Dude and Thomas Kerr
we areour choices
if we don’tlet them go
(and they don’t
disappearby themselves)
they becomeus too
attachments
the stuffof life
After Thanksgiving,
we diet
p 98 Eve Packer
location location location
the wrong placeat the wrong timethe rule
and you,the exception
your play
with different rules
is all about
dislocation
p 99 Nanette Funk
for you no undertow
this landswept of history
wild long aftercivilization introduceddiscontents
elementalharshstark
these are qualities not of sentimentbut of cutting truth
and you,without defense
stripped to barehonesty
knowingto the core
freedomis what is
p 100 Louise Rader
cold,exhaustingthe warmthit sucks on
itself stuck unable to escapedespair’s
maze
circles throughtrapin endlessiteration
the searchitselfthe chain
unable todwellwithinwhat is
only wordsremain
p 101 Maureen Grolnick
old growth
burdened withown history
and nowdarknesscoming
limbs stillreaching
as tangled veildescends
rest uponeach other
rememberinggreen dawn
p 102 Lee Cronbach
incredible comes in many flavors
horror anticipatedand horror unforeseen
&
sensuousdelights
subtly combine to spice tales
rememberedand repeated
to be served laterwith drinks
p 102 Elizabeth Rothschild
craving performance
pride in bloodsacrifice
arrogance orders
a daughter at stake
Rosemary
must carry
The Family Standard:
Bear Any BurdenPay Any Price
victory or death
to play the great game
but botched plansinglorious
keep family secret
Rosemary Kennedywithout a name
shameful and hidden
incapablewaste
stigmataher burden
silencedservicefor life
(a modelfor nun)
p 103 Maudie Robinson
foreverowningthe instant
hot ironfaith
straightensthe way
unwrinkledby care
all is well
p 103 Margaret Yard
and so it goes
left behind
unbelievable acts
daring the worldknowing Icannot be destroyed
and aheadsubmissive smileof recognition
et tu?
it all comes to that
and yetas Idetach
holdingwhatI amheld by
consumingcompassion
extendingbeyondall limits
I embraceat last
myselfas well
p 104 ellen ‘windy’ (aug) lytle
reaching our limits
dying from "final consumption"because we're only human
the system must be refined
generationexpand or die
reproduceand multiply
always increase
applies
not just to animal spirits
but also the spiritof capital
capital’sreproductive cyclemust be fertilized by money
by our final consumption
(as long as we have money)
final consumption,for capital:our reason to be
and the limiton capital’s growth
and that is why new technology is needed
to yet again save the day
the system must beset free
in coming days liberation
elimination of themiddle “man”
no need to fattenand tease outnew needs
no need for“demand” by defectivehard to predicthumansto sell “goods” to
instead, a new machine:the automated consumer
displacing sickly and disease-limited human consumers
by their pure representation
the primal automated consumer literally makes money(3% increase per yearMilton Friedman’s ideal)
algorithms will do the rest
p 105 Steve Kindred
wildly inappropriateSteve’s love
disarmingin the extreme
paranoia’sworst nightmare:
Steve’s love
you are not aloneyou are human
and at leastone personreally cares
Steve’s love
you cannot hide
you will be seen
Steve’s love
all attemptsto resist
are futile
self protectioncrumbles
subvertedby
Steve’s love
proof of
concept
there is nothingleft
exceptto believe
in the power
of lovewithout cause
which is joy
free
already yours
universal
gospel ofa preacher’s son
Steve’s lovelives
p 106 Vincent J. Tomeo
histories storiestold and retoldeach waveawash,fresh eyesfeastingon past tellings
and belowthe waves,now dust,
unplumbed bottom
as trueor falseas it ever was
source,containerof truth’s remains
by youexhumed
broughtback to new life
on which fresh eyesfeast
and maketheir meal
p 106 Carol Jochnowitz
at the bottom of the barrel
a good apple
p 107 Fredy Roncalla
wethe passengers
needing to getto wherewe’re going
not lookingfor each otherto makeour wayin this world
roll along
and then
flattened
deflatedpulled overdetained
we no longerknow
we needto bewe
How thickthe icebetweenus
who havenever sungtogether,
sharing only
our needfor a driver,
bearerof responsibilityfor our way,
to tell ushow to be?
absenceechoesand hollows
we lookat nowhere
more comfortingthan towardseach other
our distressbeyondconsolation
and then
deusexmachina
as passivereceptors
our puncturedsoulspatched
we move ontowardsour gaze
p 108 Robert Roth
meltingin a clashof vulnerabilities
serious empathyfinding each other
why shouldmessagesbe unambiguous?
empathy isonly desirericochetedthrough soul
love’s reachneeds no targetto scorea direct hit
it is an embracing
p 108 Arlene King 1
unlike dogswho made their bargainwith hunter man
teamworkserving both
cats took their timeto decide
what good are youto me?
I hunt without a pack
until, on the sly,cats noticedhuman bounty
attractor of mice
making the job of catso much easier
moving inon terms of one’s own
getting for just being me
every lover’s dream
p 108 Arlene King 2
how widethe selfthat isthe I?
how manygatesneed beunlocked?
what notto feel,beyondresonance?
I amthe don’t-knowI seek
p 109 Joey Perr
the artof living
despite
danglingbetween
abandonmentand disinterest
fetchinga story to tellan impression
a pretty stonecast away
retrievedto callyour own
p 110 Warren E. B. Harry IV and Carletta Joy Walker
selfinvents Self
Selfiswhom self honors
in the naming
an advertisementfor oneself
carrier of the story
p 110 Anneke Geyzen
the battlecry for justice
an overflow
after all the sufferingalready
coping withthe impossible
fighting silentgallantlyto survive
and then
the powersconspire
seeing only weakness
there to be squeezedonce moreand harder
touch that nerveof rebellion
deep from withinthat cannotbe quelled
except by action,
no matterhow desperate
and knowingthat oneis notalone
a plan to actas one
becomesan emergencyof one’sown creation
that is the struggle
everywherein chains,
to be bornfree
p 111 Samaris Ayala
every lifetouching you
(because you have givenof yourselfto be touched)
becomes you
not only in booksbut from them too
cast of characterdeepening
bell intones
echoingamong others
a voice to be heard
p 111 Susan Karp Manning
people,wily gamers:fuckingineffable
p 111 Jean Louise Engel
how longcan we standnot to know?
Those who seek
to changemade up minds, beware
reopeningthe storyis an invasiveprocedure.
p 111 Ron Kolm
after the overture,
an entire opera
p 111 Howard Pflanzer
on retiring from the Court:
"How do you feel, Justice?" a reporter shouted
"With my hands," Marshall replied, without skipping a beat.
p 111 Howard Pflanzer
Netanyahu, Israel's self-fulfilling prophet, cries:
"there is no peace"
And, sure enough,
there is no peace.
p 112 Abigail Dimen Taylor
knitter of spirits
all in the giving
making waymakes the way
allowing ourselvesto be caughtinto accepting arms
not the caughtof trapped
but embraced
to touchgentle and deepreconnects the hurt
to take flight anew
before and now, after
where you have gone
others go
with them an unbroken band
supportivelove
a spaceto be free
p 113 Amy Pryor
baited words
worms on hooksto be swallowed whole
because we are hungryto know
how to belike the otherswho know howto live life
fully
successfully
admirednay, envied!
we swallow it all
hook, line, and sinker
p 114 Sree Sengupta
things fall apartin a moment
griefis silence
choked chaoswithout direction
an end
withouta point
except that lifethat will not stop
goes onneeding you
and you,with woundopen
with nothingto hold onto
must reasonbeyondgrasp
a way out
your crying needwithout tears
stressed fabricripping
without wordssends itssignal
and then
the miracle
unbidden gift
caught in thekind armsof anotherwho is falling
another whosefabric is ripping
lossmade bearable
by not beingapart
but obliterating own death
in renewed life
reboundingthrough you
your everyday
a giftto him
p 119 Bill Cofone
ice bamboo stands in waving columns
forbiddingentry
you walkpast
your worldoutside
mine iswithin
this laststand
p 120 Imani El-Amin
as basic as water
but also an imageof protean power
water life force of the universe
modest ambitious
both are true and united
in simpleattention
service to all life
inside back cover Marvin Schwartz
imaginationcatches us
transmitspossibility
and sowe become
as acrobats,inner strengthre-balancingeach instant
impelling usto defybut not deny
the forcethat wouldtopple us
pull usdown
connection,fragileprecarious
our resistance,temporary andeternal
all we haveto giveto each other
all we haveto remember
ourselves
back cover Shelley Haven
restbackground
not seekingto attractattention
our placeremains
where we belong
all whole
excludingnone
free,at last
Top Related