spring 2020
Table of Contents
Return to Home PageStem of Old French Creistre, To Grow Of Stinging Nettle Page Hill Starzinger
A Twohanded Cut The Tornado Cut The Pandora Cut Torben Robertson
Humid Weather Me of Me Catherine Strisik
blue light Stephanie Yue Duhem
sold separately Lesley Battler
Communion of Tongues Hege A. Jakobsen Lepri
Another Vision Patricia Nelson
There Is No Substitute for Good Planning Erin Kirsh
Tchaikovsky, Age 52, Finds His Inspiration John Barton
Breathturning Chris Checkwitch
she is in the kitchen now Nora Pace
Like the best myths Medusozoa Sarah Lyons-Lin
How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Nachos Jessica Covil
Monologue of a Fly's Shadow Monologue of a Cow's Shadow Danielle Hanson
A Symptom of Resignation The Gee Whiz Element of Tropical Storms and Symphonies Jen Karetnick
Supermarket Lobsters Robbie Gamble
Moon Turned Her Half Face From Me Lawrence Feuchtwanger
Family Dinner In Which I Re-name My Father Poem Containing Only Words I Hate griffin epstein
Six Gray Moons on a Screen Eleanor Kedney
blue light
say blue light / say baba / say from the backseat / or say
from the backthroat
in your demure half-shorn mutish / or brutish
frankenstongue / your lintwistic portmanteau childese / or chinglish
(that’s child plus gah gah gah glitch) / (or china so frangible it’ll bah bah bah
break) / yes say ba ba ba / say
baba what is that blue light?
baba in the passenger seat says / i don’t see no blue light / there is no
blue light / stop
seeing light in the dark / stop
this obsession with bah bah bah blue / stop
embarrassing us in front of the driver please / our faces so lost
thank gah gah gah god
the headlights look out not in.
say bah bah bah but / say baba there is a blue light / say see? next to
the steering wheel or
no / you will not yet / know that word so / maybe just trace
a circle with your hands / o-
ver and over again / like / cupping the egg of a / gah gah gah godwit.
baba says / goddamn / says / there is no blue light / says / stop trailing lies
like gah gah gah gasoline on the street / says
do you want to walk bah bah bah back home on your feet / says
and don’t you dare cry.
the driver says nothing.
when baba learns to drive and speak english / years later he will say / sorry / i
did not know about
high beams or how / for years your dreams will be draped in blue / i
did not know how
to split infinitives / like tiny segments of road / i feed the car now / and i
did not know how
to stutter and still shine
a red white and blue light.