poem

by rhoda penmarq

down by the river down by the stream a-2 and b-3 shared a curious dream the white star was a mountain the green star was a toad the detective hummed a purple tune as he drove down the road a dictionary filled with words on the floor beside the bed whispered to the human and filled up its head today is the first day and also the last i had an important message but its time has passed

the lost

by horace p sternwall

albert brown was the loneliest man in town betty cox looked good in an evening gown chuck davis was ready but rough daisy edwards had the right stuff ed frank shook hands with a firm grip fran green went on cruise ships george harris was the mayor’s son helen irby always carried a gun ike jones as always in jail his mom, jenny kelly, sometimes paid his bail ken lane was a lawyer for hire lucy millwood was a ball of fire mike nelson kept the accounts nellie orvis had lot of bounce oscar purvis owned a bank or two peggy quigley always wore blue quentin rowley kept to himself ruby simmons kept knicknacks on a shelf sid tucker was a bit of a bore trudy underwood always knew the score these people do not sound like much fun don’t worry, we are almost done uncle bud is coming around the bend with money in his pocket for vanessa to spend willie williams has a dollar in his jeans except for that, he has no visible means young zeke adams stands on the corner he may be a loser, but he ain’t no foreigner that is enough of that put on your hat put on yout coat and leave alfred a note

haiku 3

by horace p sternwall

bird that can not fly just sitting on the green lawn for whatever why

haiku 2

by horace p sternwall

the fried egg was cold the sausage warm and friendly the coffee was sad

haiku

by horace p sternwall

a butterfly lives from three to eleven weeks hopefully enjoys

crack - 10. ali

by nick nelson

part 10 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

good morning, ali. it is afternoon, mister smith. thank you, ali. i stand corrected. i had something else on my mind, and it must have wandered a bit. something else on your mind besides my visit? that is not very promising. promising or not, let’s get on with it. and of course, i am obliged to inform you yet again that you may, if you like, address me as bill, and not as mister smith. yes, mister smith. ; so how have you been? have you added to or altered any of your identities since i saw you last? yes, loads. how about you? i have not changed, except for being six months older. let’s get on with it. why, are you in a hurry? i have a schedule to get through. yes, because you are a lizard brained bureaucrat in a dead end job passing judgment on people who are even more oppressed than yourself. and you a tiresome little troll. now tell me about these loads of new identities you have altered or added. i have them all recorded here. great. would you like to leave them here and we can discuss them on your next visit? are you serious? by that time i will probably have a whole new batch. of course. what was i thinking? who is up first? momo, a poor wood gathrerer in the hills of gondwanaland… this is mono, identity number 9560-439-43w? yes. momo has joined an outlaw band… the afternoon wore on. bill would have liked to finish quickly with ali, to prepare himself for his visit from detective constantine or some other policeperson, but he could not tell that to ali. to be continued

crack - 9. slim

by nick nelson

part 9 of ?

for previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

the road stayed dark, and started to twist and turn. he was not sure how to control the truck he had appropriated, along with the million dollars, from the dead man. maybe i can pick somebody up who knows how to drive this thing, he thought. and sure enough, there was somebody up ahead, barely visible in the dim headlights he had not figured out to turn brighter. he passed the walker, and then carefully pulled the truck over to the side of the road, and left the engine running. hey buddy, want a lift? always use a lift. think you know how to drive this thing? sure. i’m an old truck driving hand from the rio grande. get in then. where we headed? i was heading east. so was i. mind if i turn these lights up a little? go for it. what’s your name? um - william. pleased to meet you, william. they call me slim, panhandle slim, when they don’t call me late for dinner or the meanest man in the world. the meanest man in the world? slim turned the headlights up a little and moved the truck back on on to the road. so what is a city looking young man like you doing out on this lonesome highway all by his lonesome driving this old truck? just heading east. i did not know i looked so city. didn’t mean no offense. what city are you not from? i am not from san francisco. anywhere else? i am not from moscow or tokyo or denver colorado. those are all good places not to be from. truck looks low on gas. we will get some at the next stop. next stop might be quite a way. next