Scarlet

Lover’s Spit

He has never-met a bad-Sofia. Do you-want-children? What would you-name-your-daughter? She has known him for five minutes, maybe ten. Sofia, he-thinks. Sofia is a-lovely, lyrical name. Sasha can’t pronounce his name so she calls him you. In fact, she can’t even remember what he told her his name is to begin with. Her lipstick has […]

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“On Mountain Biking”

A montage of maple, sassafras, birch, and beech trees. Leafywaves, ridges, saws, hand and mitten patterns cling to branches by thin support.Tulip tree petals, fluorescent orange and yellow, form ranksalong the path sun creeps like wisteria along the trail. A riderpushes down the pedals of her scratched mountain bike.With rain and change of seasons, a

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“The Bark of a Tree Was Once Gentle in the Mouth”, “Over the Valley of the Kings”, and “Lucy to Her Children Under the Awaash Sky”

“The Bark of a Tree Was Once Gentle in the Mouth” During war, famine spoilsthe tongue–burdens it withfiery curses. Now the palate is marred. The bark of a tree was once gentlein the mouth. Now miswak deafens what it ismeant to clean. Teeth cannot hearTheir porcelain ears shatter The cavern above cracked gums growsThe mind,

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“Diaspores”, “Portrait at the Border”, and “The Seedling”

“Diaspores” A broken clothesline leans against its shadow nothing to hang memories on through the stillness of the desert landscape I meander fragrance of creosote bush underfoot dry winds blow clockwise shifting transverse ridges of sand In the distance a prickly pear cactus tempts the coyote despite needles the coyote consumes its fruit spreading seeds

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“J’y suis, j’y reste” (Here I am, here I stay), “Allons-y” (Let’s Go), “Mademoiselle Mulligan”, and “jaywalking”

“J’y suis, j’y reste”(Here I am, here I stay) Across the cerulean chasm of id,I press the pincers of my forlorn self-pity& bitter disappointment to set aboutwith ritualistic seppuku—their wakizashi forged from anihilistic meteorite reeved inthe rictus-grin of atmospheric immolation. Separation is an illusion.Yet, when I dare slip away foran hour or two from conscious

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Good Compost

prologue :: the roots have & to hold A man holds his still-beating heart in hand. He wonders how many repetitions make something true. He cannot remember how he got here, when he began cradling that most important self outside of him, arms outstretched so the veins don’t tangle. He needs circularity. What comes in

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