by Stephen Ellis

Color and light
when I wake, are
my angel, presiding
over craving
to have my own
teats sucked
by the oracle of
prescient death,
not of milk, but
of the equally
natural pain
endured, as how
we manage
love, for this
perpetual ache
is nourishment
shared from
mammal to daemon,
a nursing that
feeds fire
and infection,
the forms of my
personal and now
internal controversy
argued amongst
animal endearments
in which I have
no opinion, but
reverie and finally
nothing but so
simple as pure
Mercy. I imitate
what my body
used to be, and in
those soundings,
the chill that
comes with fever
burns with a bliss
that makes dark,
the love whose
protest against
the death of sexual
need, begins to
set me free.

by Joe Torra

morning star
in chestnut tree
ducks and geese
call from the river
heat exhaust
from chimney tops
a truck speeds off
this oldest new morning

by Joe Torra

Summer’s not yet over —
Morning breeze
Through window green
Branch brushes against —

Birds sing late
Summer songs, they
Consume me

Flesh exposed,
First upper body
Then bottom

I am the river
Illuminated —
Flowing smoothly
On a cool breath
Of a leaf

by Yonghong Gu

Life is too long
Long and fishy
Have to wait
Like in line
Fishy and long
Fishy and long
Waiting for cake
I’m on the bench
Long and fishy
I’m on the bench
Dirty and fishy
I’m on the bench dirty and fishy
Been there too long
Looking at the cake
Time and time
Older and older
Wait and wait
Think and think
Think about goodbye
How to say goodbye
How to say goodbye
Before leaving
Have to say goodbye
That’s the rule
Of this world
Now it ends
Now it comes
Glad I came
Glad I leave
Say goodbye
Tears in eyes
Such a beautiful life!
Boring and fishy
Binds my heart!
Boring and fishy
Time to leave
Too long to wait
Say goodbye
Such a beautiful life!
Long +and fishy
Binds my heart!
My beautiful heart!
Say goodbye