Oranges and Reds
by John Godfrey
10:37 of a Friday morning
seems more grounded among
barren oak gingko
black cherry and ash
Research papers-over the tariff:
One limb a pantleg seals off
in pantyhose
Transfusion juice
on tap at
the winter picnic
Fire and coals light
the pages all
oranges and reds
in which mother learns anatomy
Skinned-away muscles
like woven petals
Half man half woman
No aspect without danger
then peace beyond expression
you don’t live to see cuz
it’s not there that way
Empty Swivel
by John Godfrey
Your color gets you cheated, well, cheat back
A wall around the empty swivel chair
Over that wall the same again
I’d be the last to stay self-sufficient
and so drown like appendage, like coin
Choir sings to choir and
they sicken each other
Those who earn three-fifths of one care
Those who are sued at birth
step out front and solo as lonely women do
Night introduces sub-words, groans
and abrupt articulations
She is tired, I think, and
I show her to a resting place
Eye Terrain
by John Godfrey
The woman I dream
submits to spirit
and pays twice
She thirsts for
words in sight
Arranges them
to modulate a vastness
Her eyes both
look into and out
Mahogany iris in
study of another’s
eye terrain
Senses the bones necessary
to implications
Jives behind a warm
superior smile
The woman I dream dreams
The subject is “haze”
The predicate is “clue”
A little
eyeliner don’t change
deep brown into tan eyes
Only under streetlights
are there shadows
between her fingers
Her slip is basic midnight
Nothing torn or stretched
Minimalist svelte
and sheltered by this hour
Her own key
Edward Michael Supranowicz
Edward Michael Supranowicz: is the grandson of Irish and Russian / Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia and has a graduate background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently or will soon appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, The Door Is a Jar, The Phoenix, and other journals. He is also a published poet.