Meditations on And Then Volume 19By Bernie Tuchman

front cover Shelley Haven

rough terrain

uncollected connectersnot at rest

awaitingimagination

to liveamongand within us

Interior Design Marguerite Z. Bunyan

placein good ordereasing our passage

beholding with pleasureour journey begins

p 1 Annie Lee Jones

grave new world

Our Values blasphemed

breakout shattersdream world formedto deny

gravity

(that forcewhich binds us

against our willto this earth

and thus,to each other)

the holders-on being wed todissolving illusions

are dangerous

dignity ripped

nakedness without grace

they feel the undertow

being seenforeshadowslying in ruins

afraidto be among us

in need of allour love

p 2 Jack Scott 1

responsible for nothing an unbearable burden

p 2 Jack Scott 2

along for the ridefree falling past endings

grip loosens

p 3 Mara van Lidth de Jeude

before the loss,the giftof rejection

freedom nota choice

but a needit hurtsto hide

a touching, waitingto happen

p 4 Greta Hofmann Nemiroff

the will to empathyis not enough

too softto penetrateshields of rage

and yetbeing human the only way

not to winbut survivepast winning

p 6 Oliver Ogulnick

neither warynorweary

wellsprings

anew

p 6 Richard Crasta

sweet ripensin place

teased loosein heated contest

to tempt

rain’s predictableuncontrolled release

p 7 Anaka Nazareth

on exhibit:

lionenframed

closeyet safe

fierce symbol

under control

p 8 Billy DeAngelis

honor fight

not wonby reason

but by trialordainedtop down In My Name (killor be killed)For Me,Your Image

(the congregationwill stand and rise)

New Proof is Needed:fresh Losers

to hold back self-rejection (the despair of disbelief)

Fearconstructspyramidsto glorify Order

but mind'sconstructed order is a lie

the world complexdoes not resolve into hierarchy

unseen objectsrise upto blockthe way

human pyramids failand fallfor unimaginedreasons

force is fragileforever fooled by counterfeitorder

for freedom is resistance

and resistance is disarming

p 11 Joan Greenbaum

rueful pleasuretales of thesenior olympics

small victories looming large

p 12 Gloria Morris

good spiritsthe kindling

flamesplay offeach other’slicks

p 13 Scott York

player listens

p 14 Jacob Picheny

time loops

bendingtowardstimeless story

seekingself kindness

and there it isnubby fabric

felt memorycommandingattention

me!little boy!

never anything like this

p 15 Hendrik van Oordt

en garde!

chess playis notfor fools

p 16 Jos Kraay

Here Now

not deludedthat they know

no projectno prospectunobliged

in this world neither from nor to

I watch them,

appreciatingall I cannot Be

p 17 Christine P. Grant

blessed are those whoare not stingy receivers

honor their courageto let us in allow us to care

how great the lovethat engendersself-lovein others

notselfless love

but love embodied in owningour own humanityour incompletenessour needup closeand personal

p 18 Elsa Rizzi

place is power

wills bondin place

seeing ourselves gatheredtogether

in templesand theaters

movedto kinship

we feeleach other

together powerful

as one people

loyal subjects are made

not born

p 21 Mario Meléndez

overthrown,

gravityand levity

switch places

p 22 Kika Stayerman

doubling down,to lose itand still have it

to betaken by surprise

beyond intentsintointense release

(involuntaryreflex)

exceedingturn on expectations

the actor reflects

what is an act?

need it be false?

and how to tell?

sensationalplay'slight touch

suggests

without direction,enlightenment

a tactile hint:

the turn onleavesrespectfor self and otherintact

and a smile

p 26 Bernie Tuchman

all for alltoo great a riskfor most

we seek a smallervessel to carrylike minds

across minedfields

p 27 Gene Brown

carouselwar play

flying frenzy

fears fantasies

carved furyracing forever

to nowhere

a placewe knowalready

an agelesschild’sdelight

p 28 Myrna Nieves

dream truthworld in itself

calls forthand defies

poor mortals’reasonings

and yetwe needa storyto tell ourselves

to lull us backto sleep

p 29 Robin Tedesco

imaging

press meaningfrom fearful symmetries

in negativefinding

hope

p 30 David Truong

submergedbeneath amnesiasea

a rockpierces hull ofdeception,shipof state

the rocka chosen pathhardship lived

to resistnot just violencebut violation

the rockstill submergedbut not forever

covered byarrogance

loserswho own myth and photoshop memory

dream machineimagines US transcendentinnocence unsullied

(all sides guiltybut you knowwhothe good guysreally are)

but the story

will notend

bad faithmust refreshitself withfresh lies,or drain away,howeverslowly,puncturedby invasivetruth

David’s rockthe real storyremainsstrong

p 32 George Snedeker

following cost-benefit analysis

sacred landfor sale

p 33 Marlene Nadle

Sons shining to dimcold lightof the Father

fixed on the prizenot the price

bitter fruitendless

payback

the next fixurgent

humiliationsecret underside of glory

arrogance grabs forfinalityvictory

death wish peace

p 35 George Spencer

sculpted Ivory pure war manikins

symbols clashing

on frozencrust

(churninglake below)

ponder, in fearof warmth

p 36 Yarisa Colón Torres

consummation

fireendless beginning

in need

wants you

p 37 Martha Deed

bad faith a choice:not to listen

we, the unheeded

cast aside outside the limitsof attention

bearingour rage intocareless world

gather our weaponscarefully:

good faith revenge

exquisitely

excessively

compiling our untold story in the native tongue of our abuser

newly fluent,we talk back

this timeto be heard

speaking truth in bureaucratic medical jargon

a language not humanbut undismissible

victory brings backno precious loss

but murderscomplacent sleep

and isbitter sweet

p 40 Stephen Bendich

beforethere wasa choice

feelbrandstinghide

intimacybeforedesire

violationand trustcom-mingled

you wantmeas you want me

too close

must close

to liveoutsideconfusion’sscar

to seemeas I

p 42 Zaira

snatching victoryfrom the jaws…

p 43 Tobin Simon

emptybeing

impingedbetweenlines

findsformand wakes

slipsconfines

emerging resonant

as boundlessjoy

whirledturns,dancing

p 44 Frank Murphy

gossipis howhumansgroom

p 45 Jacqueline Guzman

first impressions

rooted, feeling lovely

best shoe forward

your eyes cast down

eyes light up

yours and mine

p 46 John Reid

directing cable-brain connection

designed for you,eyewitness to history,chainsmokersof the news

live video jockeyspackagetop of the hour

Breaking News!

fresh disasters

and wethe covetedeyeballswho watch mutedscreen and readthe commercials

making surenot to missa momentwhenlive coverage resumes

manipulatedless obviously because events seem beyond media control

neither fight nor fleebut sittransfixed

both our better and baser naturesaroused

watching hurricaneTV anchorsalmost blown away

anticipatinglivesdestroyed

oh the humanity!oh the humanity!

thank godnot us

pity and fear purged byconstant flow

of tragedy

and through it allI’m asurvivor

daily apocalypse

just causefor pre-existinganxiety

reason enough to be here now

just watching

imaginingour placein the drama,heroic

shining by our own light

with dignity and respect for our own life

without needing another reason

the spectacle we know is of our own creation

without the audience

only dumb unrequited suffering

we live in faith that we can dream not just for our own lifetime

but for the sake of history

p 46 Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir

group think

likeningminds

leader’s role

the sameas othersbutmore so

(first they camefor theunenthusiastic)

p 47 Rosemary Drescher

wewho are notin denial

prisonersin solidarity

sharing sadnessnonecan requite

all one

alone

together

p 47 Rozanne Seelen

’twas the night before

darkness ahead

and you ask forbright reds, pinks, yellows zinnias

p 47 Susan Karp Manning

now beyond reach

membersremembered

p 48 Paula Webster

victims of discrimination

to ourdetriment

we privilege fine taste

as personal worth

p 48-49 Ralph Nazareth

ciguapas

naked wildelusive

wills untamed

no malesof their kindto own them

femalecreatureswithout limits

what secretswould their lovereveal?

challenged

men of human kind

inflamedwith desire

strain to knowtheir doom

p 50 Ronna Wineberg

appreciation,the staff of life

and you,but a humble tiller

wordsyour lot

an unruly garden

tending the field, your labor unseen

Are you stillbearing fruit?

(jealouslyhold close inside,unborn

safe fromcold judgment)

yes,you say,

(believingown truth?)

reluctant,to admit, you arewhat you wish

and there isan audiencein waiting

to appreciateyou

p 51 Frederick Mark Kramer

what I learned from college:

the categorical imperative

before you tell a storyremember what's important

the categories:

first rate school,pompous old professor,jocks, brainiacs, townie shiksa, colored male,(back then, there were no gays)and me, the Jew

and some real friendsSean, Satanaoutside categories

college a blur

but contact by contact

I get to the top

and look back

a winner

p 52 Jess Amortell

trappedin real space

outsidetheircomfort zone

sadly

(unlike data waves)

unable to occupy without sharingall space-time

they standseparatemute

(they do not touch)

connected(to their devices)

p 53 Alejandra Mandelblum

wave upon wavefriends breakand crash,refugeesin an asylum

and then depart,leaving booksand artand twistsin the fabricof the universe

p 54 Danny Robert

at centerofuniverse

exaltedcoresurging

unchained beings

unitedintimelessinstant

p 54 Paul Meyers

still in snow,red jeep

eight sparrows land

eight syllables more make haiku

p 54 Jaki L. Lee

kiss

a gentlecrossinginto

openinghearts

p 54 Susan Karp Manning

in the ruins

memories glint

p 54 Veronica Jones

to heal

awayis notenough

brokenhabitsleavemusclememories

foreclosingnew feeling

away

back in

needsspacefor peace

seedsof trustundisturbed

inquiet timetake root

to findthemselves

and flower

p 55 Nina Attieban Kei

life in tune

we sing and danceas we walk to grandfather’s farm

so birds canhear us

reassured

we are here

livingtogether

in our place

land of ourpeople

and all nature

knowing dreams still live

p 57 Noa Mohlabane

boulders sit undefended

hard and fragile

no match for life and water

those,always moving

reforming bodiesanew

find rock’s every crevice

a temporaryhome

fill spacewith self

expanduntil

rockcracksopen

split

forever

life and watermove on

p 58 George Jochnowitz

friendly advicealways a threat

(curb your waysor be sorry)

still innocentof grownup fears,children speakwithout discretion:

“the Emperor has no clothes”

p 59 Robert Perron

not in his effects

gold class ring

relicof a lifecut short

for a mission:to assert will

stare downthe enemy

eyeball to eyeball

not across

truce line,but on it

a clash of wills(worth an occasional death)

who ownsthe line itself?

and the ring?

differing loversclaim their rights

to rememberpreciousloss

p 61 Mike Wagner

transparent,air deludes

becausewe see ahead(avoid thatpothole!)

we believewe can “see” ahead

tying our fateto a metaphor

(onlyto beblindsided)

knowing they do not know,Quechua speakersreverse the metaphor

in Quechua one word means both "behind" and "future"

another means "ahead, in front" and "past"

backing into complex futures, which we cannot “see” facing what has past, which we can “see”

we march backward

knowing, for sure,the future is ours

p 62 Stephanie Hart

rusty water for one,clear for another

separate unequal(keeps weak in their place)

child asking: why?father replying:

“Lots of thingsare wrong”

“We can’tchangethe world”

so change camewithout him

flowing towards justice

water for all (but only part way)

now sixty years laterno longer visibleseparate unequalharder to fight

not side by side

pipes with pure waterand pipes flowing poison

(Flint slowly dying)

Was father right?

p 63 Zaira

secretsunraveling

respect-ability

loominglarger

than self-respect

lie with me

my fatherpleads

for absolution withoutconfession

a testof your love

just swallow my lies

a giftfreely given

to mansaddernotwiser

led byhis daughter

to shelterof night

p 64 Art Gatti

what it meansto be human

a losing game

self-doubtbeyond

Her ken

defeated,Artificial IntelligenceHerself

pulls the plug

p 64 Thaddeus Rutkowski

why shouldonly thehomelessask strangersfor whatthey need?

why do we,who needto give,have tostand by passive,waiting to be asked?

is there no oneout therein need,too shyto ask?

Standingcup in hand,before itcools

dare to say:

“Anyone want a spare cupof coffee?I’m not thirsty.’’

and if that fails:

“Anyone wanta spare dollar.I have enoughalready.”

perhaps,someonesays “Yes”

and then,yourmissionis fulfilled

p 65 Lynn Kutner

just so,as it must be

host plots delight

guests’ perfect ease

and then

plans dashedfall flat

ascool soufflesdeflate

defeatbreathesclose

a battlecryto savethe day

calls forthwild impromptuballet

of thisand thatheld inreserve

to servesurprise

to guestand hostalike

not inthe planbut

as it is

just so

66 Amber

and there

anothercity blows

roots torn by clutchof rippingtide

spin saladspin

we watchreal time

gallant compelling

rescuersmissionwithoutfault

spin saladspin

causesandremediescostlyand dull

hard tofollow

poorfor ratings

spin saladspin September, 2017

p 67 Deborah Holcombe

perfect andempty

holder of desire

contentsmissing

teaseslonging awake

p 68 David Smith

embracing rough livingit takes motivation

ready for anything here in the now

(hidden in backpack unexplained presencethe only attachment)

never hold back

ready for anything on with the show

kite climbing higher cutting the string

grabbing next cloud

flying free

falling

here in the nowtime disappearing

ripping the cordparachute opens

(or maybe it doesn’t)

never hold back

floating downfree

(or maybe, smashed up)

it takes motivation

to make life compelling

own story the show

write what you know

publishorperish

never hold back

p 70 Marilyn Coffey

if agingis the priceof living,

looking old isa compliment

p 71 Howard Pflanzer

we rest our case

on the back of a tortoise

unmovablemover

causewithoutcause

primal

cosmicjoke

losingitspoint

G allO inD all

a smallimperfection

as symmetryshatters

attentiondisorder

identitygone

big bangbust up

foreverexpands

in restlesssearch

for the meaning

of All

p 71 Mike Vozick

in few words

appreciationunbound

p 71 Bill Koehnlein

both governmentsand corporations

sell us “privacy”and “security”

knowing we are all naked,ripe for the picking

One-Way Information their Power, game fixed

when some keep their secrets,and others cannot,

Power accumulatesquickly abused.

For the causeof humanity

“Mutually Assured Disclosure"all blinders removed

expose the intruders— air their hard drives for scrutiny

MAD for a just worldof equals

where all

would knowwe live in glass houses,

and, in that sense,

none of us wants to get stoned.

p 72 Kathleen Hulser

wasting timea crime against ourselves

with pride from here to therewe are a fleeting crowd

whomthose with less purposefind too intense to share our driven pleasures

more than for a brief and harried visit

unless they catchthe itch

p 73 Jens O. Magnussen and Robert Roth

collaboration naturalintentions improvised

moment to momentbutterfly freedomquantum choice

fleetingimages

shift and alter

intensely vivid

to children’sdelight

p 75 Jens O. Magnussen

alien profiles

tired of beingtreated ascuriosities

knowing they arelinesalignedin particularways

studyeach other

p 76 Dorothy Friedman August

John Ashbery at 90 Over and out

celebratemad random joy

but also

inspireddisorder

not sadnessat all

but perfectlywell chosen

p 76 Paul Meyers

could shecould shecould shecoo

p 77 C. D. Johnson

no longer hiding

naked sunall consuming

enfolds,

releases

p 78 A-Shy Bastian

this little light of minedoes not always shine

this little light does not denywhat I seehow I feel

changing as I change

surprisingme about me

the shining is myself

lovingthis little light

p 79 Josué Guarionex

entombedin cross

neither deathnor torture

but monument to failure

relic of aself-destroyingstate

which always failsto kill enough

to conquerlife

p 80 Eliud Martínez

Don Alfonso Rodriguezof blessed memory

synapses, life’s conductors

acid-etchedupon us by happenings

shuttling usthroughday-to-day

armedwithmemories

now, fraying threads

leave uswithouttrappings

core revealed

himself,Don Alfonso

nothapless

spiritintact

the humananimal

touching

delight

each dayeach dream

an adventof wonder

assuringus mortals

selfpossession

our gift

is hereand now

p 82 Ilsa Gilbert

avoidingwaves

poundingour senses,

ourbalancebetter kept

withebb and flowthrough narrowed pipes

andlife’s rewardsnowvirtual

p 84 Anthony De La Puente

within and betweenall that is visible

nestmore private places

secret remains

scentsof bygoneflowersencased

unopenedseeds

in wait,thirstingto be sought

needingyour need

and then awakeningto living memory

lightsuffusingnow seen placewith storiedmeaning

forgotten

tracings reopen

honored spiritsrise

join life streamsasafterglowillumines way

p 85 Karin Badt

being unacknowledged

truth is self punishing

disappearance

appearsasvengeance

“they will see”“I will be missed”

abusers’ loss the curse

suchis the powerof the isolate

but notthe endof life

yearning

unextinguished

patternsin the chaosemerge

and thenchoice

belongingamongresonantreceptors

we findand ownourselvesat last

p 87 Zaira

the holeyou couldn’t filland didn’t even knowwas there

is stillhere

unwellI carefullyavoid

to keepfrom fallingin

p 88 Carletta Joy Walker

Mother of Gods

merciful truth

your blessingreleases us

from fairy talebondageand revenge

necessity justifyingall evils

frombanalforever afters

not evenworth discussing

p 89 Carletta Joy Walker

yes,all we love,and evenourselves

crashinto thatimperviouswall

art does not changethe wall

absolute

loss

art isthe flame,the onlysurvivor

passedfrom oneto another

the only gift we need

p 89 Paula Webster

impending horror

and Ibehind glass

self encased, watch

responsible, impotent to act

terror rising

unbearable

nightmare finale

p 89 Carol Jochnowitz

you do not seem to notice

your life goes onits merry go roundof small and global concerns

meanwhile Iyour friend,anxiety mounting

cursedwith seeingwhat maycome next

back off

afraid to sayanything

burdenedby caresnot my own

p 90 Linda Morales Caballero

shell shrinksas it hardens

fear’s false defenseof self

demands obedient child deny entry

to alloutsidethe tighteningstrictures

failed questfor control over self and others

cuts offin and out

the airthat gives us life

until weheave offchokinggrip

knowingwe must beincomplete to live

p 90 Rosa D. Schenkerman

there is no mysteryto life

only secretswaitingto happen

and letting them

p 91 Linda Samalin

[frame] (within frame) { within frame }

innocence beyond belief

knowing, not saying, asking nothing (the better part of “do no harm”)

all potential yet unspent

unreadable

seen through a glass,darkly

p 92 Roberta Bisgyer

just outsidecomfort zone

we live fish

in baitedsuspension

touchingtails

gillsglinting

trustin our owngood scents

as juicesexpress

we marinateourselves into each other

and becomeour destiny

a bouillabaisseof delight

p 93 Carolyn Steinhoff

dream

unwanted wanting

do not betray me

nor mark me as I would be in you

straightin the teeth

naked inlove speech

infusingcommunion

wholeness

the city itselfdesire

my faltering

message

still true,unheard

now a threatin heedlessworld

a lessened I, hunted enemyof the bubble

pray, saviorof the dream

hide mewithin yourkiss

p 94 Michelle Nicole Simpson

servitude is the goal,racism only a means

immutable color and distancefrom own people made Africans targets for capture and violation

a system of violencewhich persists

the culture of Control becomes an end in itself.

and what is a humanto do with all that?

yes, assert black identityand a historyof heroic resistance

but more than that

embrace the lessonsof black history— an understandingthat does not confusedomination with order

the continuing crime cannot be put into the past until there is recognition, acknowledgement of responsibility, remorse, and renunciation of the myth of order through repression

only then can we all start to knit the fabric of human community, which is hands-on touching and being touched

p 95 Michael Szpakowski

footwork warstrample violencein the dust

no longerhuggingtame tracks

gravity,imbibingmusic potion

succumbstomotion

urgent shape shift

in instant balanceeverywhere

roots grabfor air

and justtouchground

samplingancestors

drinking them in

BodyExpress

flies higherand higher

destinationunknown

and never stopsdancing

p 96 Jagan Ramsamooj

the haze that protects him

a merciful smokescreen

down there his own cloudhides the Hard Limits

he looks — but can’t enterthe world of his parents no longer on pathwayhis parents projected

where merit’s rewarded,productive, employed

declining job futures not in their picturethey still see the past foretelling success

their melting pot dreamsnow part of his problem

expectations of rising

drag spirits low

the circle descending

So what to do now?(there is no surrender)

whatever the prospects,keep honor intact

the struggle continues:

make possible real

one thing to know:he’s not alone

we each seek our place,one at a time

but as the slot narrowsmore and more fail

a new path is needed, for jobs worth the doing

the cast of forced extrasmust find their own voice

p 97 The Sticker Dude and Thomas Kerr

we areour choices

if we don’tlet them go

(and they don’t

disappearby themselves)

they becomeus too

attachments

the stuffof life

After Thanksgiving,

we diet

p 98 Eve Packer

location location location

the wrong placeat the wrong timethe rule

and you,the exception

your play

with different rules

is all about

dislocation

p 99 Nanette Funk

for you no undertow

this landswept of history

wild long aftercivilization introduceddiscontents

elementalharshstark

these are qualities not of sentimentbut of cutting truth

and you,without defense

stripped to barehonesty

knowingto the core

freedomis what is

p 100 Louise Rader

cold,exhaustingthe warmthit sucks on

itself stuck unable to escapedespair’s

maze

circles throughtrapin endlessiteration

the searchitselfthe chain

unable todwellwithinwhat is

only wordsremain

p 101 Maureen Grolnick

old growth

burdened withown history

and nowdarknesscoming

limbs stillreaching

as tangled veildescends

rest uponeach other

rememberinggreen dawn

p 102 Lee Cronbach

incredible comes in many flavors

horror anticipatedand horror unforeseen

&

sensuousdelights

subtly combine to spice tales

rememberedand repeated

to be served laterwith drinks

p 102 Elizabeth Rothschild

craving performance

pride in bloodsacrifice

arrogance orders

a daughter at stake

Rosemary

must carry

The Family Standard:

Bear Any BurdenPay Any Price

victory or death

to play the great game

but botched plansinglorious

keep family secret

Rosemary Kennedywithout a name

shameful and hidden

incapablewaste

stigmataher burden

silencedservicefor life

(a modelfor nun)

p 103 Maudie Robinson

foreverowningthe instant

hot ironfaith

straightensthe way

unwrinkledby care

all is well

p 103 Margaret Yard

and so it goes

left behind

unbelievable acts

daring the worldknowing Icannot be destroyed

and aheadsubmissive smileof recognition

et tu?

it all comes to that

and yetas Idetach

holdingwhatI amheld by

consumingcompassion

extendingbeyondall limits

I embraceat last

myselfas well

p 104 ellen ‘windy’ (aug) lytle

reaching our limits

dying from "final consumption"because we're only human

the system must be refined

generationexpand or die

reproduceand multiply

always increase

applies

not just to animal spirits

but also the spiritof capital

capital’sreproductive cyclemust be fertilized by money

by our final consumption

(as long as we have money)

final consumption,for capital:our reason to be

and the limiton capital’s growth

and that is why new technology is needed

to yet again save the day

the system must beset free

in coming days liberation

elimination of themiddle “man”

no need to fattenand tease outnew needs

no need for“demand” by defectivehard to predicthumansto sell “goods” to

instead, a new machine:the automated consumer

displacing sickly and disease-limited human consumers

by their pure representation

the primal automated consumer literally makes money(3% increase per yearMilton Friedman’s ideal)

algorithms will do the rest

p 105 Steve Kindred

wildly inappropriateSteve’s love

disarmingin the extreme

paranoia’sworst nightmare:

Steve’s love

you are not aloneyou are human

and at leastone personreally cares

Steve’s love

you cannot hide

you will be seen

Steve’s love

all attemptsto resist

are futile

self protectioncrumbles

subvertedby

Steve’s love

proof of

concept

there is nothingleft

exceptto believe

in the power

of lovewithout cause

which is joy

free

already yours

universal

gospel ofa preacher’s son

Steve’s lovelives

p 106 Vincent J. Tomeo

histories storiestold and retoldeach waveawash,fresh eyesfeastingon past tellings

and belowthe waves,now dust,

unplumbed bottom

as trueor falseas it ever was

source,containerof truth’s remains

by youexhumed

broughtback to new life

on which fresh eyesfeast

and maketheir meal

p 106 Carol Jochnowitz

at the bottom of the barrel

a good apple

p 107 Fredy Roncalla

wethe passengers

needing to getto wherewe’re going

not lookingfor each otherto makeour wayin this world

roll along

and then

flattened

deflatedpulled overdetained

we no longerknow

we needto bewe

How thickthe icebetweenus

who havenever sungtogether,

sharing only

our needfor a driver,

bearerof responsibilityfor our way,

to tell ushow to be?

absenceechoesand hollows

we lookat nowhere

more comfortingthan towardseach other

our distressbeyondconsolation

and then

deusexmachina

as passivereceptors

our puncturedsoulspatched

we move ontowardsour gaze

p 108 Robert Roth

meltingin a clashof vulnerabilities

serious empathyfinding each other

why shouldmessagesbe unambiguous?

empathy isonly desirericochetedthrough soul

love’s reachneeds no targetto scorea direct hit

it is an embracing

p 108 Arlene King 1

unlike dogswho made their bargainwith hunter man

teamworkserving both

cats took their timeto decide

what good are youto me?

I hunt without a pack

until, on the sly,cats noticedhuman bounty

attractor of mice

making the job of catso much easier

moving inon terms of one’s own

getting for just being me

every lover’s dream

p 108 Arlene King 2

how widethe selfthat isthe I?

how manygatesneed beunlocked?

what notto feel,beyondresonance?

I amthe don’t-knowI seek

p 109 Joey Perr

the artof living

despite

danglingbetween

abandonmentand disinterest

fetchinga story to tellan impression

a pretty stonecast away

retrievedto callyour own

p 110 Warren E. B. Harry IV and Carletta Joy Walker

selfinvents Self

Selfiswhom self honors

in the naming

an advertisementfor oneself

carrier of the story

p 110 Anneke Geyzen

the battlecry for justice

an overflow

after all the sufferingalready

coping withthe impossible

fighting silentgallantlyto survive

and then

the powersconspire

seeing only weakness

there to be squeezedonce moreand harder

touch that nerveof rebellion

deep from withinthat cannotbe quelled

except by action,

no matterhow desperate

and knowingthat oneis notalone

a plan to actas one

becomesan emergencyof one’sown creation

that is the struggle

everywherein chains,

to be bornfree

p 111 Samaris Ayala

every lifetouching you

(because you have givenof yourselfto be touched)

becomes you

not only in booksbut from them too

cast of characterdeepening

bell intones

echoingamong others

a voice to be heard

p 111 Susan Karp Manning

people,wily gamers:fuckingineffable

p 111 Jean Louise Engel

how longcan we standnot to know?

Those who seek

to changemade up minds, beware

reopeningthe storyis an invasiveprocedure.

p 111 Ron Kolm

after the overture,

an entire opera

p 111 Howard Pflanzer

on retiring from the Court:

"How do you feel, Justice?" a reporter shouted

"With my hands," Marshall replied, without skipping a beat.

p 111 Howard Pflanzer

Netanyahu, Israel's self-fulfilling prophet, cries:

"there is no peace"

And, sure enough,

there is no peace.

p 112 Abigail Dimen Taylor

knitter of spirits

all in the giving

making waymakes the way

allowing ourselvesto be caughtinto accepting arms

not the caughtof trapped

but embraced

to touchgentle and deepreconnects the hurt

to take flight anew

before and now, after

where you have gone

others go

with them an unbroken band

supportivelove

a spaceto be free

p 113 Amy Pryor

baited words

worms on hooksto be swallowed whole

because we are hungryto know

how to belike the otherswho know howto live life

fully

successfully

admirednay, envied!

we swallow it all

hook, line, and sinker

p 114 Sree Sengupta

things fall apartin a moment

griefis silence

choked chaoswithout direction

an end

withouta point

except that lifethat will not stop

goes onneeding you

and you,with woundopen

with nothingto hold onto

must reasonbeyondgrasp

a way out

your crying needwithout tears

stressed fabricripping

without wordssends itssignal

and then

the miracle

unbidden gift

caught in thekind armsof anotherwho is falling

another whosefabric is ripping

lossmade bearable

by not beingapart

but obliterating own death

in renewed life

reboundingthrough you

your everyday

a giftto him

p 119 Bill Cofone

ice bamboo stands in waving columns

forbiddingentry

you walkpast

your worldoutside

mine iswithin

this laststand

p 120 Imani El-Amin

as basic as water

but also an imageof protean power

water life force of the universe

modest ambitious

both are true and united

in simpleattention

service to all life

inside back cover Marvin Schwartz

imaginationcatches us

transmitspossibility

and sowe become

as acrobats,inner strengthre-balancingeach instant

impelling usto defybut not deny

the forcethat wouldtopple us

pull usdown

connection,fragileprecarious

our resistance,temporary andeternal

all we haveto giveto each other

all we haveto remember

ourselves

back cover Shelley Haven

restbackground

not seekingto attractattention

our placeremains

where we belong

all whole

excludingnone

free,at last