Poetry Video Reading: THAT UNSPEAKABLE THING, by Daniel Thomas Moran

Voice Over by Val Cole

That Unspeakable Thing, by Daniel Thomas Moran

When, in good time, a thoughtful person reflects,
There can be no subject to confound us like sex.
Which had one singular apparent intention,
But wound up with more than one can mention.

We begin misconstruing the endless inferences,
That day we realize the apparent differences.
Then comes lengthy lists of shall’s and shant’s,
Based on who wears the dresses, who the pants.

He has one kind of pink thing, she quite another.
So that one must become Dad, one become Mother.
The mechanics of which no decent person dares speak,
But the results of the silence are decidedly bleak.

Men in black declare what they say some god thinks,
Separating us to protect us from all our instincts.
Consequences the gods have so very carefully defined,
From stark insanity, hairy palms, and then going blind.

Then are the many diseases our best remedies defy,
AIDS and Claps and Cancers, and let’s not be shy.
In a matter of time you could be pushing up daisies.
And most concerning of all, there might even be babies.

Then more challenging sex things we learn of these days.
Called Lesbians, and Bi’s and Trannies and Gays.
There is no easy way to tell by the looks on their faces,
Some declare they put their pink things in all the wrong places.

Now determined politicians act decisively,
With statutes to dictate where each one must pee.
With justifications that seem surprising to some,
Insisting Jesus was a virgin just like his Mum.

Yet remains this truth they are forever regretting,
All that was begot came from a lot of begetting.

Poery Video Reading: THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE, by Vijay R Nathan

Voice Over: Val Cole

The Art of the Possible, by Vijay R Nathan

http://www.VijayRNathan.com

On Kehinde Wiley’s Portrait of Barack Obama

The waves of gray hair, forehead shines
over creased brows. Flowers emerge
from green tableau: from chicago,
from Hawaii, from Kenya.

The leaves wrap around the feet
ensnaring
the subject. Greenery yields
no space topiary invades
all visibility, dominant— yet not aggressive.

He sits aloof from the viewer, focused
gaze follows our movements. Listen
to the rustling leaves, telling stories. He’s tense
from holding our attention.

His hair isn’t of a young man. He’s aged.
How tension shows up in bodies.
Hands hug knees, He leans
forward. loosey crossing arms.

There’s no tie, collar left open, free
of such encumbrance.
Regal chair demarks his status, yet
its modern, casual appearance speaks
‘We, the people’.

Isolated, in unreal surroundings
he’s trapped
in Nature, now an otherworldly
space apart from his predecessors,

A brown, skinned man, in a white herd. I see
his intensity, he is seated amongst the flowers,
in his element, a natural. His nature
flowers for all to see.

If this is true, let’s explore what else is
possible. Yes, we can dare to hope, to be
seated apart from a wilderness world
that demands we stand or be eaten.

Poetry Video Reading: THE THINGS THAT RUINED MY PROM NIGHT, by Brianna Corona

Voice over by Val Cole

The Things that ruined my prom night, by Brianna Corona

1. Pine needles sprinkled down like confetti.
2. -prom closed with reflective confetti.
3. Scattered rocks that shine [ motor oil.]
4. -black out/black liquid, everyone has different prom nights.
5. [deafening. ] Windshield vaporized.
6. -Can glass be confetti?
7. Antlers disappear into the door [ velvet versus sheet metal.]
8. -Bambi?
9. [yelling. ] Dad calls
10. -what the hell happened?
11. [stuck. ] Satin dress braided around the accelerator.
12. -what day of the week is it?
13. Blue and red stars blinking.
14. -have you been drinking?
15. no
16. [crimson. ] Shaded stains around uneven pupils.
17. -is it okay?
18. Fawn fur draped against bent angles [ metal versus nature.]
19. [static .] young adult female
20. [broken .] single vehicle accident
21. -is the deer okay? [silence .]

LGBTQ+ Poem: i like terracotta and stoneware, by Holly Rowsell

best descriptor
not quite the same – molded
and shaped each other
yet remained
malleable and the grooves
kinda remain and are added
onto as time passes
as we change
and grow
as people? also thank you
for the journal! i’ll tell
you my favourite poem
via letter six
months from now

__________________

Poet bio –
“Holly Rowsell (she/her) is a student living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She is a lover of cherries
and an involuntary poet. You can find her work in Catalyst, Sweet Mammalian and Tarot, among
other journals. You can find her online via @hollyrrowsell”

LGBTQ+ Poem: Reflections of a Living Ghost, by Aaron Mcdaniel

My mother cries over the body of her living son.
She cries while I stand before her,
She shouts “YOU ARE GONE”
But I’m right here?

She speaks of a little girl,
Of fond memories and family holidays
But I do not remember her,
I remember me.

She says I am five,
But I am sixteen.
She tells me she loves me,
But she thinks me a murderer.

I am the man, the boy, who took away her daughter.
I killed her,
Erased her,
I left her behind.

I tell my mother “she” is not here
That he is here
That he always has been,
That he never left

She sighs.
She says I am five
I am sixteen.

LGBTQ+ Poem: Calendula Summer, by Noam Audrid

You were mine for one summer
A flash in time – medicinal remedy
Of oppressive wounds from an oppressive system – two, you
Write your queer poetry
And I’m proud to be yours

Calendula summer stuck
With sickly sweet sap on my weathered fingers
Two thousand miles but I miss you so –
Your wannabe marigold

Marry, grow old, never to be, the sun –
Setting, a memorized calendar reminds me
Of my medicine turned weed
In the northwestern sun

Calendula summer harvested
The pieces of me, the pieces of you
As we sheared off the stems
By degrees we wilted away
And buried intertwined roots
Perchance to return
Next spring

LIFE Poem: Unseen, by Emily Jones

Lifeless words penned by blood
Left to rot before the blind and sightless
Darkness consumes my mind
Burning whatever light remains
I curl up alone in the storm
And hold myself like a mother would
Hateful and cursing, I’m bleeding
Bitter and broken – I can’t stand the silence
It’s turned on me like a childhood friend
Ripped through my spine and left me crippled
Left me cold and afraid
Of the shadows that lurk under my bed
Desperate, I chewed off my tongue
Cut off my hands to stop them leading me astray
But still they whisper in my ear, plaguing my thoughts
Their wet laughter loud and hollow
I can’t fight them anymore
I’ve no more blood to shed
Yet I fear their presence even in the afterlife
Their ugliness branded on my name
Where can I go?
Where will I finally be free?

LIFE Poem: The Hilltop, by Nehizena Osagie

On top of the hill, a lone tree stood still.
Once vibrant green turned into a bleak scene.
Years weathered its bark, it now stands in the dark.
Yet, within the cracks, a story embarked.

Within its branches, life found its way.
Moss embraced its limbs in a verdant display.
Birds nested within its crest.
New life thrives in the tree’s next quest.

Deadwood now nurtures a newfound host,
as fungus slowly gnaws and breaks free at the post.
A sanctuary born from the tree’s demise,
Fostering a safe haven for life of every size.

On top of the hill, a lone tree stood still.
Life found purpose, a new way to provide service.
No longer taking up space, it moves on with grace.
Welcoming the next phase at nature’s own pace.

LIFE Poem: Goodnight Sun, by Matt Martens

Out there in the bleeding orange
Light stands like soldiers in the coming war
Holding hands as the blade passes between them
Little slivers of pain and progress
Slicing through the agony of meadowlarks
Remember the days when there was dark in the nighttime?
Black and void and pure because of it
The lumens keep marching
Cutting along the highways and the homeless
The little hands creeping up the mountainside skirt
Dirty fingernails scratching sagebrush thighs
The spires are littered with electric trees
All the wannabe kings and queens walking hard up the foothills
Searching for their moneyed homes, their skyline view
The deer retreat, or make new homes under bird feeders
The sun is tired
Tomorrow there will be no darkness to let it sleep