Jeff Weddle

I Loved Lucy

The grocery store
gave a dime apiece
for the pop bottles

I collected
by the side of the road,

righteous money,

but I kept one back
to hold the wild flowers.

The flowers,
a Snickers,
and a lame
knock-knock joke
went fine with the sunset.

Next day in school
you blushed
as we passed
in the hall.

James Croal Jackson

Thrift Store Sweater

Threads dangle off the sweater
I’ve worn forever, blue
and purple billows all across
my torso. I can’t just throw
away this salvaged dollar
from a Goodwill. A cloth
can sheath itself on the body
and glide forever, walking
toward an inevitable unknown
destination. The distance is empty
space, jammed with ubiquitous
sound. I will sew none of it.

James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet who works in film production. His latest chapbooks are Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022) and Our Past Leaves (Kelsay Books, 2021). Recent poems are in Stirring, Vilas Avenue, and *82 Review. He edits The Mantle Poetry from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (jamescroaljackson.com)

Juliet Cook

Stalks

This abyss of dark corn fields
floods your brain and
nervous system with
violent effigies, waiting to abduct you.

Immerse you in flames
then just throw you away.
Your un-model hands shake
inside this pit of toxic abrasion.

Turbulent then blurring.
Trapped in the never ending
descent. Your spinal column
degenerates into a rotting corn stalk.

Unwanted. From a pall to appalling.

Juliet Cook's poetry has appeared in a small multitude of print and online publications. She is the author of numerous poetry chapbooks, recently including "Another Set of Ripped-Out Bloody Pigtails" (The Poet's Haven, 2019), "The Rabbits with Red Eyes" (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2020), "Histrionics Inside my Interior City" (part of Ghost City Press's Summer Micro-Chapbook Series, 2020), "red flames burning out" (Grey Book Press, April 2023) and "Contorted Doom Conveyor" (Gutter Snob Books, July 2023). Later this year, she has another new poetry chapbook manuscript, "Your Mouth is Moving Backwards", from Ethel Zine & Micro Press in October 2023. Cook's first full-length poetry book, “Horrific Confection", was published by BlazeVOX. Her most recent full-length poetry book, "Malformed Confetti" was published by Crisis Chronicles Press. You can find out more at www.JulietCook.weebly.com.