Once Upon A Time by Ann Privateer

When we were fish
We swam together
When we were trees
We grew close
Enough to touch
Now we’re in cars
And apart.

Ann Privateer is a poet, artist, and photographer. Some of the her recent work has appeared in Third Wednesday and Entering to name a few.

Snapshot Flashback by Ivan Jenson

I have
random recall
of you leaning
over a sink
devouring a mango
at midnight
or you at a wild party
in the arms of
an Arminian guest
learning how to tango
and it’s funny how
nothing profound sticks
and I would say
my all time top pick
would be when
you encouraged me
to break the law
of gravity
and believe
in myself
like nobody’s business
and to always
show some class
even when life
kicks me in the ass

Ivan Jenson is a fine artist, novelist and popular contemporary poet. His artwork was featured in Art in America, Art News, and Interview Magazine and has sold at auction at Christie’s. Ivan was commissioned by Absolut Vodka to make a painting titled Absolut Jenson for the brand’s national ad campaign. His Absolut paintings are in the collection of the Spiritmusuem, the museum of spirits in Stockholm, Sweden.  

Jenson's painting of the “Marlboro Man” was collected by the Philip Morris corporation. Ivan was commissioned to paint the final portrait of the late Malcolm Forbes.  Ivan has written two novels, Dead Artist and Seeing Soriah, both of which illustrate the creative and often dramatic lives of artists. Jenson's poetry is widely published (with over 600 poems published in the US, UK and Europe) in a variety of literary media. A book of Ivan Jenson's poetry was recently published by Hen House Press titled Media Child and Other Poems, which can be acquired on Amazon. Two novels by Ivan Jenson entitled, Marketing Mia and Erotic Rights have been published hardcover. 

Ivan Jenson’sl new psychological thriller The Murderess is now available on Amazon.

So Hard by Susan Isla Tepper

You cried so hard 
so long
the gods of such matters
took you at your word
your begging wish    
to transcend 
this particular channel

to go
anywhere, anywhere

You stumbled out onto 
a lost land
where you could not
breathe/ eat / tell truth
from fantasy

distinguish between 
love and war
without choking

on your own breath

Susan Isla Tepper is a twenty years published writer in all genres.  Her current project is an Off-Broadway Play on the subject of art and life.

The Chill Within The Room By John Patrick Robbins

Maybe it's a fairytale we have outgrown.

But it might just be that the glass has cracked, allowing all the magic to run out.

The dark surely will encompass all.

So hold onto whatever it takes to get you through.

Maybe, is a question that poisons hope yet bleeds an ounce of truth.

Whisper your secrets to strangers and bury your hopes for the moment.

It's a long dark night that certainly faces us all.

John Patrick Robbins is the author of the Still Night Session's 

from Whiskey City Press.

His work has been published in Punk Noir Magazine, Fearless Poetry Zine, Lothlorien  Poetry Journal, Horror Sleaze Trash, San Antonio Review, Fixator Press,Piker Press and The Dope Fiend Daily.

His work is always unfiltered. 

Green Bottles By Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal

Inebriated nights

spent in one room

as the world spun

all the way around.

The green bottles piled

up in the kitchen table.

The skies grew darker

and dreams washed away.

The singing night birds

sang a secret song for

the lonely drunken man.

Luis has lived in California for 45 years. He works in the mental health field in Los Angeles. 

His poems have appeared in Ariel Chart, Dope Fiend Daily, The Rye Whiskey Review, Under The  Bleachers, Yellow Mama Webzine, and ZYX. Kendra Steiner Editions has published 8 of his chapbooks.

[ i've canceled prior appointments before ] by john compton

the gas coddles me
like we've been lovers 
and it is affectionate 
kissing what little body 
i am willing to offer 
but it tends
to that small area of flesh
like it is infinite 
and all of me. 

i want to die
but it is too kind
and tells me not today,
today you must live.

john compton (b. 1987) is gay poet who lives in kentucky. his poetry resides in his chest like many hearts & they bloom like vigorously infectious wild flowers. he lives in a tiny town, with his husband josh and their 14 dogs and 3 cats. he feels his head is an auditorium filled with the dead poets from the past. poems are written and edited constantly. his poetry is a personal journey. he reaches for things close and far, trying to give them life: growing up gay; having mental health issues; a journey into his childhood; the world that surrounds us. he writes to be alive, to learn and to grow. he loves imagery, metaphor, simile, abstract language, sounds, when one word can drift you into another direction. he loves playing with vocabulary, creating texture and emotions. he has published 1 book and 6 chapbooks published and forthcoming: trainride elsewhere (august 2016) from Pressed Wafer; that moan like a saxophone (december 2016) from kindle; ampersand (march 2019) from Plan B Press; a child growing wild inside the mothering womb (june 2020) from ghost city press; i saw god cooking children / paint their bones (oct 2020) from blood pudding press; to wash all the pretty things off my skin (september 2021) from ethel zine & micro-press. he has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies.

Pretty in Pink by John Doyle

I'm standing all alone
Dennis Wilson tells me for the 19th time since 1978,
Bray, County Wicklow
 
asking grifters like me to send its ashes home to France;
two men on bikes at Cassoni's remark
how boring trains look these days 
 
as I hold Bray's ashes, as rain delays itself, graciously.
Listening to Frank Furillo save J.D. LaRue’s soul on Youtube
I call one half of team Raleigh to come collect his chips,
 
the other mutters that his brother's wife's a cunt - I think that’s his brother
briefly becoming my shadow,
nightfall nude as someone's baby five doors down -
 
taking their first bath, pink and safe, chuckling.
France isn't stamped on this horizon -
not yet - be patient my child, all beauty fuses us as one,

then leaves us standing - all alone

26th July, 2021, approaching 9 p.m.

 John Doyle became a Mod again in the summer of 2017 to fight off his impending mid-life crisis; whether this has been a success remains to be seen. He has has two collections published to date, A Stirring at Dusk in 2017, and Songs for Boys Called Wendell Gomez in 2018, both on PSKI's Porch.

He is based in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. All he asks is that you leave your guns at the door and tie up your horses before your enter.