Four Poems by Mark Young

A songnet

 

Community life
falls short of the
occult. It begins 
with choice & ends 
with a vaginal de-
livery where the 
uterus is removed 
for greater visibility. 

Conflict is a natural 
component of such 
a structure. Playing 
with dolls is some-
thing we have all
done in the past.

 

 

830 pages of secret cabinet papers have just been released

 

                                    This

                   may be a         blue bar

                        death & burial        rant that

                             dates back at         least a

                                  century That's        the last

                                       time I tried               to move

                                 the sternum             toward the

                             chin & quit           smoking.           

                        History is            historically

                   against me,         though in the

                   interim, for          the sake of my

                        loved ones           who always

                             go round              dressed as

                                  if they were          attending a

                                       family                   member’s

                                            wedding,              I've stood

                                            on the                    shoulders

                                       of hobbits &          examined

                                   myriad ways        of injecting

                             hot lunches             with green

                        growth hormones   & all without

                        risking my                inflated sense

                                              of self.

 

 

A line from Fernando Pessoa

 

So how should we record the

conversation when ordinary

language is not precise & what

is left out is precisely what

 

constitutes literature? There are

no norms, no scientific language

which might be intrinsically pre-

cise. Rather we turn to meta-

 

physics & violate ordinary usage

to show that violating ordinary

usage accomplishes nothing ex-

cept to demonstrate that we are

 

proud of the violation, do not

claim ignorance of the legal dict-

um, ignorantia legis neminem

excusat, but instead spit in its face.

 

 

A / Significant History / of Domestic Violence

                     Her profession de-
                         mands a lot of
                 her. A massage
                            therapist, on the
                     World Heritage List,
                    skilled in techniques
                          used by Native
                               Americans long be-
                           fore Windows was
                               introduced. Grat-
                         uitous photos
                    will be sent on
                             request. Federal
                energy tax credits
                             are also available.

Five Poems by Joshua Martin

Falsification Aquarium Dental Instrument

 

foamy echo & other fins

sneak through organs

stooped like tent poles

wearing dynamite

 

outside apprehensive tones

scattered ashen quantities

wallowing pinwheel grease

tapping Byzantine prunes

nearest floating curds

seldom a tarmac oven

breathing callous ink

 

parachute pine snails

beating colossal shrimp

while withering beards

uncover trachea delusions

 

submerged mantle

fishing scuba bear traps

warming lantern acoustics

 

microchip whining nested eggs

half-spun cinematic bluff

sheared unknown comedy thorn

scene by mythological kilt trap

ornery in sweltering door jambs

 

once likened sprain

hunted rabbit shifting

preaching thunder shrines

fling showboat fauns

drifting piecemeal galaxy

tundra of classical staples

 

dalliance shiver iron

best kept meandering

strapped kissing bounce

 

fish for a son-of-a-grift

 

boxing keyhole lawsuit

invading tawdry allusions

shredded horrific beans

upstart cobra zoot suit

 

riot squad makeshift jar

collapses best kept nuclear haircuts

Hunks of Slipper

 

aging mammoth & the rafter

having spoiled intake valve

handsome daylight darts

ducking out hole-in-one cone

 

          fumigating lizard porch swing fancy

          typhoon skeleton curfewed glove

 

                   handle for a scandal

                   fly-on-the-wall profit

 

solid as a pondering campfire

rigidly strangled hillside cakes

self-absorbed wholesale nostrils

 

                            vignette fading stream

                            radiation tunnel drawl

                            impose failed rackets

 

porridge sundial as it rises

locked stupefaction monsters

iris in on swallowing upheaval

straying notepad crocodile fiend 

Relentless Egalitarian Forks

 

When it rains golf ball handkerchiefs

the river bats an eyelid lobster scam

pristine as an axe symbolizing grunt

pushing daisies into hedonistic postures

all gaunt & straining incognito warts

gruff yet somber in shelf life

wandering knife party memorials

singing wary similes without credit

while positioned as stick figure puppy

guessing at wastepaper victories

tired muffled forsaken squirming

aluminum and all and persistent 

desire sings new wave possibilities

all schmaltz preening complexities

widely unread poetic universalism

screeching to halting purple frown

liquid as vegan clockwork hats

pouting manic breastplate functions

tied then loosed then warped

where the farmhouse adjusts static

 

 

Blasted hostage tracts

 

on charred notepads wither linguistic manatees

gesturing around the ballpark rental graphics

            subtle directed wingspan

            diabolical ringtone cruise

            shipping postal hurricanes

                              organs force hockey chants

                              harbors mistake arraignments

                              errand limiting doorstops

Belly Cannot Shade Paperclips

 

sphere trims the cauterized fables

fattened as an invitation

to a catacomb pageant.

                             mummified,

the many pointed thirsts

collide in unison before

antechamber skidding

                                     envelopes.

        muffle

and meanwhile,

               darting     in/out/

                        collide - - -

marble head lice

embalming relics - - -

                    (leering,

                      then fleeing)

without productive impulses

spinning gaseous pimples

scurrying industrial fumes.

                                          plead,

               at least less envious than

               laser blankets shifting

               impresario paranoiac

                                               metals.

bob and bob and shelter,

mercurial by sheets,

                           racked tongue

                           lacking tourniquet.

 

Joshua Martin

Three Poems by Oliver Kleyer

Saturnalia

When Elon Musk became president of Mars, I migrated to Saturn. At first, I wanted to go to Venus, but the jogging route on the Rings sounded too promising. Initially, it was hard to get accepted by the Saturnians in my village, but after joining the volunteer fire brigade, I became a valued member of the community. The food is also very tasty, very spicy and mostly vegetarian. I have not yet learned the language here, so I can not tell you the names of the dishes. I am communicating in Swedish, which is the second official language after Saturnese. I am living now a far better live than before. My favourite part of the day is seeing Earth rise on my morning jogging round on the Outer Ring.

 

The bath

Today, when I went into the bathroom to take a bath, I found a mermaid in my bathtub. She was about half my age and had long brown hair, completely covering her upper body, so everything I am telling you is SFW. From her waist down, she had a fish tail, which is no surprise, since she was a mermaid. She smiled at me whimsically. After all, the situation was embarrasing for both of us.

“How did you get in here?”, I finally asked, hopefully not too harsh. “Your caretaker let me in” she answered. “She said you wouldn’t mind since you have a soft heart for refugees and are also an expert on folklore and mythology.” “Yes, that’s true. But right now, I want to take a bath.” “No problem. I don’t mind you joining me.” Remembering the reputation mermaids have in some stories, I denied, saying: “I prefer my bath with foam and I don’t think that would be good for your scales. But can’t you get out for a moment? Doesn’t your tail turn to legs when you’re out of the water?” “That’s what you and Andersen think!”So I just brushed my teeth and went to the bedroom. I wasn’t even surprised anymore when I found a dragon sleeping in my bed.

 

The Tattoo

A longhaired man went into a tattoo parlour. Actually, he wasn’t really the tattoo type, But he wanted to try something daring. He thought that the shoulder would be a good place. Unsure which motive to choose, he skipped through the suggestions folder. At first, he opted for a screaming Frank Zappa, the Chunga’s Revenge cover picture. But then, he found this lovely portrait of a beautiful woman, drawn in a 1950ies style, but with a 2022-vibe. The tattooing was a bit painful, but afterwards, he thought, that it really was worth it. After all, he now would never be lonely in his life again. 

 

Oliver Kleyer