Punk Monk Press/Magazine

  --Cheryl L Caesar 

1.My only crime was being born black and poor 2. a dark skinned black man born to a poor family 3. class - bottom of the barrel 4. race - black  5. life expectancy - barely past a quarter of a century 6. Expected destination - prison 7. My profile read  8. 9. From birth, life was against me 10. constantly dealt hands from a loaded deck 11. had to work hard to even be fit to race 12. the struggle to get to the starting line almost broke me 13. at night I'd cry myself to sleep 14. crying because of the pain of being pushed down because of my skin 15. crying because of the pain of seeing my smart lil brother unable to go to the right schools 16. crying because of the pain of seeing my mother try everything to get things done 17. crying because I was afraid I might slip up and fall into the same lifestyle that took my brother away from us 18. every day I'd wake up  19. my tear-soaked pillow, a constant reminder to keep on the path --  Sgqibo Klarion Gwadiso

If I chose prose to express myself would you want to be close?  Dream on a lake shimmering gold is light flashing drake high end up with poetry pouring out and up Head inside my shattered eyes that blends the skies and under what name your shame? Back to the heath and your wild wishes to listen to the birds a-swallow whistles warbling singing it's sun dried out of town swinging  I saw your work in a bookshop looking forward go nextdoor clip clop  Weeks days and years going down again later on we'll pray for the cures Swing switch to sombre moroso ding sing song single sinful now that's an angle Eagle eye on my way to another dive let us go then you and I  You and him to her and she is his mind that the rest is a great find hovering over me cheerio ciao bella go through the universe unicorn wheel Find his word on the luminous intensity of the sweet words  -- Mimi Bordeaux  

a wedding invitation from                         my daughter  with my name misspelled  but it doesn’t matter                i don’t expect her  to know me it’s not like we were close  i was           at the hospital  when she was born the doctor let me                     hold the baby for a minute or so then  handed her back to                 her new parents -- J. Archer Avary