^{Richland Lights / E}

Andrea Ferrero once told me that she loves my energy!

By Samuel Alcantar

I want you to play
the guitar for me again.
What an unforgettable sight:
a serenade at the windows
of my soul. I want the sound
your mind makes
to resonate through me
through chords at 120
heartbeats per minute.
Hearing sweet melodies,
precisely crafted with your two
lips and unconventional
strumming patterns.
Rock-and-rolled
with tongue and wrist.
When you play a song,
you close your eyes
and smile.

What do you see?

Do you see dancing
colors on your eyelids
the way Remy does
when he eats
cheese and strawberries?
Or better yet,
do you witness
the birth of the universe
for the infinitieth time?

Whatever it may be, I hope I emit
even the slightest glow
in your memory.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Constance Rescue

By Dennis Mahagin

Some call me Sister, and I’m rarely afraid

of what? God. Where are we off to, Lee?

The Bowery? Get us past this

air raid. Open Tracheotomy. Start an IV.

At break of day, who thinks of eternity?

Liam takes the call. Turns the wheel. Hums some Depeche Mode. Hope to God

it’s not a suicide.

No hearse, only nine one one.

We lope past avenues, Park Slope, a Doberman playing fetch.

The wrecked faces of them at their end, staring

at gates of other lives

and no more time to spend.

No more. Period. A boy falls from a tree,

no parallel universe, no alternate reality.

Try explaining to his mom. Sometime, scratch.

No, I shouldn’t, and still can’t. Oh, Liam, not another OD.

Stop the truck. I’ll get the latch. Hurry.

boredom’s creation

By celeste sylvester

accept my soul like nature’s breath
accept my love with like the wind’s kiss
accept my heart like a cloud’s descend
accept my hope like

a heart pounds
a brain beats

my sobriety from you

i ascend from the heavens, bringing with me a storm i step onto the ocean floor
my hair above my head it floats
i exist within the nature i created
swept away by a tidal wave
i morph into the sea to save myself
my lungs accept the inevitable
and i sink into recreation