em:me
issue two: summer 2012
[table of contents] on the cover: easton avenue, bethlehem, pennsylvania, 2012 by emma horning pages 2 + 3: [table of contents] page 4: [a small letter] page 5: one poem by allie marini batts page 6: one poem by carrie l. krucinski pages 7 + 8: visual art by oceano [rudolfo rios] pages 9-11: three poems by felino a. soriano page 12: one poem by norman abjorensen page 13: one poem by neil ellman pags 14-16: visual art by emma horning page 17: one poem by danielle donaldson pages 18 + 19: two poems by justin carter
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pages 20 + 21: two poems by ricky garni pages 22-25: visual art by jim fuess page 26: one poem by kristin roedell pages 27 + 28: visual art by john dutterer pages 29 + 30: two poems by marta ferguson pages 31-33: visual art by eleanor leonne bennett page 34: one poem by emma koch pages 35-37: visual art by ernest williamson III pages 38-40: contributor notes
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a small letter. june 2012
[welcome!] Today is summer solstice and I’ve been thinking a lot about spaces lately: Spaces between inhales and exhales, between words, seasons, lives. In here, you’ll find: light-play word-play white out carl jung stolen calf’s leg and spaces I’m happy you’ve created a small clearing in your day to read / look at some of the work in here.
yours, emmalea russo editor
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chain-smoking collage
a
magic tricks I was drawn in shorthand, passed from illusionist to protégé, unreadable penmanship, a scribble of a symbol, teaching men and mirrors how to escape from padlocks, chains and other vices. my coded riddle, a Chinese water torture cell for you, with hidden keys and twisted hairpins to tease out. An escapologist’s trick, underwater echoes of deadbolts and manacles loosening I have taught you well how to leave me.
allie marini batts
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dear one We chain smoke, under wisteria vines, even though the doctor found emphysema in your left lung last November. Your mother’s inside, fiddling with streamers and kazoos for your brother’s birthday; he’s been dead the past twenty years. He was the dear one, the not difficult one, the one people would stop to see when they got into town. You’ve thrown fits and only walked on kitchen counters since you were let out of the cradle. You light another cigarette, hoping she will notice, praying she will say she doesn’t want you to die. It’s only now, as I glimpse you in my periphery, I notice your hair is on fire, the fingers of your left hand missing.
carrie l. krucinski
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girl in yellow oceano (rodolfo rios)
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witnesses oceano (rodolfo rios)
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of language the widow speaks
chorus amid attached clichÊs the saddened evidence of terminology’s truncated sourcing serenading chants of queried notions, rejoinder into the symmetry of silent declarations
felino a. soriano
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of language the wanderer speaks
retracting tracing modular steps of noon’s fastest articulation the heat of invention: tableaus funnel myopic rhythms blur of a wind’s softened scold remain
felino a. soriano
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of language darkness speaks
of the fingers’ wild excitation, verbalizing loss in the structured phenomenon of wholly missing —the searching impression inherit tangible consistencies those with familiar contours as with windows opening into/onto land and varied multilayered interpretations
felino a. soriano
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disconsolate Glowering clouds gather: the sky is closing in Birds fall silent as gloom descends Looking up dark blood is stirred as tension builds Soon the cascades will ride the winds coursing through dry ruts of memory
norman abjorensen
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graffiti sobre ciment (after the painting by Antoni TĂ pies) The way plovers leave their prints in sand lovers their names in oak children deface the walls in a dialect their own their language of the streets proclaiming only that they were there
neil ellman
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guest house, martin's creek, pennsylvania, 2012
emma horning 14
south fifth street, emmaus, pennsylvania, 2012
emma horning
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third avenue, bethlehem, pennsylvania, 2012
emma horning
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threading a needle He’s Knocking behind my bellybutton Expecting an announcement Balancing a top hat, clasping a monocle Talon hands like hot pokers Over dressed for the occasion He’s Lemonade that stings an old burn In the ridges of my mouth Even though the thirst is a beast Hunched on my chest When I try to sleep He’s A creaky rocking chair with cobwebs on the armrests That sways when no one is looking
danielle donaldson
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what to do when my heart stops beating Don’t call an ambulance. If David says did she drink too much vodka and pass out, tell him I did. Put a pillow under my head & check the sink for cracks. I hit it hard when I fell. I know you want to call 911, but I’ve been through this twenty-seven times so listen to me: Don’t. In the morning buy me coffee. Buy me a dozen glazed donuts. Remind me to take my pills & if anyone asks why I need them, don’t tell them the engine in my body has a broken piston. & don’t worry: it always starts back up if the key is jammed in hard enough & if, one day, I am driving & the transmission finally blows, I can pull into Hermann Auto and get a replacement. But you don’t have your insurance papers, they will say. There is nothing we can do, they will say. We are very sorry.
justin carter
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sonnet about the family with the sedan in the driveway The mom’s a sterling silver wreck, baking brownies in the kitchen while Dad the Republican watches Glenn Beck & waits for the Cowboys game. He smiles at Glenn’s chalkboard. The son? Off somewhere in an alcoholic daze. A dream. This scene repeats every night. Mom with greased up hair. Father cursing big government. Son popping codeine pills on a sidewalk, rolling into the night like an SUV, top heavy in the summer rain. Like words rolling off a tongue in the quiet dark of a stranger’s basement. Pop away the pain. That’s how you have to fix these things. Glenn plays the National Anthem. Dad starts to sing.
justin carter 19
i can’t believe it’s not marjoram I can’t remember what I planted where, but I am almost certain the marjoram is winning, if being alive is a race. And if it is, then basil is losing, but you know, the race isn’t over yet. Sometimes the sun can change everything. I like the smell of walking towards it. In that way, we are all winning, and it’s a tie, which is boring.
ricky garni
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white out She wrote this: love love love love love love She said it helps me think Then she wrote this: love love love love love Then she said Everything happens for a reason
ricky garni
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#266
jim fuess 22
look
jim fuess 23
joy
jim fuess 24
worm wars, attach # 2
jim fuess
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what jung would say My knees always ache before a storm; last night a barbed wind bent the madrona to the north, branches bent horizontal in a stiff Quaker’s broom. Drowned birds clung to the sagging phone lines. This morning the dog killed a crow flapping on the frosted steps, its left eye socket empty. I built a fire in a rusted barrel and burned it; it was small without the thirst for flight. I thought this means something, in the way that dreams speak in pictures; a key means come in a shoe means go out. I thought if a fire with wings means death is a ladder, and a one eyed crow means love is one sided, this winter means endless. The key beneath a stone, the shoes behind my door wait. There will come the sound of ice cracking in the birdbath. The first black bird on the wire means
the soot of ravens will fly.
kristin roedell
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an enchanting evening john dutterer
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elemental demographic john dutterer
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balloons: a found poem Air Safari. Alimony. Angelfire. Aurora. Ball-n-Chain. Be-bop. Big Baby. Big Foot. Blossom. Blue Sky-Bearer. Boomer. Bright Idea. Budzilla. CaZoo. Cherry Bomb. College Fund. Corkscrew. Cowsmic. Crush. Daffodil Dreams. Daydream Believer. Eternal Flame. Eyes of Horus. Flying Colors. Joseph’s Coat. Lady Jester. Lollipop. Lucky Charm. Monkey’s Uncle. Moonbeam. Moonshadow. Moving House. Mushroom. Nest Egg. No Regrets. Peppermint. Pi-Ball. Pirate’s Treasure. Red Bug. Simple Gifts. Sky Bus. Sky High. Skydreamer. Star Attraction. Stress Ball. Sundog. Sunshine Daydream. Sushi. Thistle Dew. Tiger Paw. Twist-n-Shout. Ultraviolet. White Rabbit. Yankee Do. Yee-Ha!
marta ferguson
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sponsored by the letter "D" Daffodil. Daffy. Daily. Dainty. Daisy (See also, Dogs, Other). Dalmatian. Dam. Damage. Damn. Damnation. Damnit. Dance, the. The Dancer. Dandelion. Dander. Dandle. Danger. Dangle. Dare. Darling. Darwin. Daughter. Dawn. Dead, dead. Dead. Dear. Death. Debrouiller. Decay. Decide. Decision. Dedicate. Dedication. Deep. Deeper. Deeply. Deer. Deface. Defamation. Defang. Defense. Defensive. Defiance. Defile. Deflower. Delaney. Delay. Deli. Delicious. Delight (See also, Desire). Delirious. Delirium. Delphinium. Deluxe. Deluze. Denial. Dense. Density. Dentist. Deplore. Deposed. Depressed. Deranged. Derangement. Derided. Derrida. Descent. Desert. Desiccate. Design. Designer. Desire (See also, Delight). Desk. Despair. Desperately. Desperation. Despot. Destroy. Destruction. Detail. Detect. Detective. Deteriorate. Detonate. Detonation. Detour (1991), Temporal. Detox. Detract. Devalue. Devastate. Devastation. Deviant. Devious. Devolve. Devote. Devotion. Dew. Dewars. Diagonal. Diaphanous. Diaspora. Dice. Dicker. Dickinson. Dictate. Diesel. Differ. DiffĂŠrance. Difference. Difficult. Difficulty. Dig. Dignity. Digression. Diligence. Dill. Dilly-dally. Dim. Diminutive. Dimple. Din. Ding! Dip. Dirt. Dirty. Disarm. Disarray. Disaster, Drill and. Disaster. Disaster. Disastrous. Disavow. Discharge. Discipline. Disco. Disentangle. Disgruntle. Dish. Disillusion. Disinterest. Dismay. Dismemberment. Disparate. Display. Disregard. Disrepair. Disrupt. Distance. Distant. Distemper. Distend. Distinct. Distopia. Distress. Disturb. Disturbed. Dithyramb. Dive. Divide. Divine. Divorce. Divulge. Dizzy. Do. Dog. Doggies. Dogma. Dogs, Other (See also, Daisy). Dogs. Dogs. Dogs. Doing. Doll. Dollop. Dolphins. Don't. Done. All done. Doors. Dope. Dorm. Dorsal. DOS. Dove. Down. Doxa. Doxology. Draft. Drag. Dragons. Drama. Draw. Drawers. Dream. Drew, oh, Andy! Drill. Drink. Drip. Drive. Drop. Dross. Drought. Drum. Dufresne. Dug. Duh. Dumb. Dumbo. Dumpling. Dusk. Dusky. Dust.
marta ferguson
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eleanor leonne bennett
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eleanor leonne bennett 32
eleanor leonne bennett
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the myth that is your beauty I am the myth! of a half-built house with organs, a !labyrinth with the fortitude of a china shop !and I’m half-imagined, half-! loved, with a body more bull headed !than a minotaur with a habit! of breaking, like quiet after a storm. ! I want you lost! in my mass with nothing golden !or perfect you can use ! to find your way home because ! I’m a sacrifice like the calf’s leg we stole !from the Italian butcher! the night of your sixteenth birthday just! so we could poke it with cigarettes until! it resembled a detached, cancerous lung! from an unknown beast. ! What a waste, I remember thinking,! of decent meat. ! Not that you cared. Your body !is melodious and !irrevocable as Christ’s. Your body !is impossible to get lost in.
emma koch
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the seeds of acting ernest williamson III
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the art of the scientist ernest williamson III
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somebody watches over me [ernest williamson III 37
Norman Abjorensen is an Australian writer and academic, recently returned to poetry after two decades of silence. He lives in the countryside outside Canberra. Allie Marini Batts is a graduate of New College of Florida, meaning she can explain deconstructionism, but cannot perform simple math. Her work has appeared in over eighty literary magazines her family hasn't heard of. Allie calls Tallahassee home because it has great trees to climb, and conveniently, her husband happens to live there, too. She’s pursuing her MFA degree in Creative Writing through Antioch University Los Angeles and‌..oh no! it's getting away! To read more of Allie's work, please visit kiddeternity.wordpress.com, or to read her book reviews and literary blogging, visit Bookshelf Bombshells at http://bookshelfbombshells.com/. Eleanor Leonne Bennett is a 16 year old internationally award winning photographer and artist who has won first places with National Geographic,The World Photography Organisation, Nature's Best Photography, Papworth Trust, Mencap, The Woodland trust and Postal Heritage. Her photography has been published in the Telegraph , The Guardian, BBC News Website and on the cover of books and magazines in the United states and Canada. Her art is globally exhibited , having shown work in London, Paris, Indonesia, Los Angeles,Florida, Washington, Scotland,Wales, Ireland,Canada,Spain,Germany, Japan, Australia and The Environmental Photographer of the year Exhibition (2011) amongst many other locations. She was also the only person from the UK to have her work displayed in the National Geographic and Airbus run See The Bigger Picture global exhibition tour with the United Nations International Year Of Biodiversity 2010. Justin Carter edits Banango Street. He reads chapbooks for NAP. He blogs at http://theghostofbigmoe.blogspot.com Danielle Donaldson writes from Southern California. She spends most of her time day dreaming about the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Her work can be found in SquawkBack, Scissors and Spackle, Breadcrumb Scabs and Menopause Press. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature from American University in Washington, D.C. John Dutterer is a Maryland-based writer and visual artist, whose work has appeared in Maintenant 5 & 6, Dear Sir, Nth Position, Perigee, and other periodicals. Although he enjoys dabbling in painting and the construction of objets d'art, collage has long been his preferred medium. John seeks the fortuitous meeting of disparate objects on a flat surface, and when he sees it, he runs to get his glue.
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Neil Ellman lives and writes in New Jersey. He has published numerous poems, many of them ekphrastic and based on works of modern art, in print and online journals throughout the world. Marta Ferguson: In 2005, my chapbook, Mustang Sally Pays Her Debt to Wilson Pickett, was published by Main Street Rag. I was a finalist in the 2011 Alligator Juniper National Writing Contest, have twice been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, and have had a reprint at Poetry Daily. My work has appeared in many literary magazines over the last decade or so, including Spillway, Bluestem, 5 AM, Prairie Schooner, and The Connecticut Review. Poems are available online at The Cortland Review (#28), Midway Journal, and FutureCycle and are forthcoming in The Comstock Review, Theodate, Tawdry Bawdry, and elsewhere. A former poetry editor of The Missouri Review, I have been the sole proprietor of Wordhound Writing & Editing Services, LLC, for 10 years. I hold a Ph.D. in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia and periodically teach enrichment classes in poetry reading and writing, facilitate Artist's Way groups, and give readings. Jim Fuess works with liquid acrylic paint on canvas. Most of his paintings are abstract, but there are recognizable forms and faces in a number of the abstract paintings. He is striving for grace and fluidity, movement and balance. He likes color and believes that beauty can be an artistic goal. There is whimsy, fear, energy, movement, fun and dread in his abstract paintings. A lot of his abstract paintings are anthropomorphic. The shapes seem familiar. The faces are real. The gestures and movements are recognizable. More of his abstract paintings, both in color and black and white, may be seen at www.jimfuessart.com Ricky Garni is a graphic artist from North Carolina. His latest short work publications can be found in SOFTBLOW, POETRY QUARTERLY, and UNFOLD. He is currently working on a twelve book collection called OK YOU CAN STOP NOW, as well as a tiny book called TOOTHBRUSHES. Once a month, he teaches poetry to seniors at Covenant Place in Carrboro, North Carolina, USA. Emma Horning was born in 1987 and holds a BFA in Fine Art Photography from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. She currently works as a Studio Manager for photographer Larry Fink. Emma Koch contributes to the blog www.sonnateers365.tumblr.com and is a First Year Student a the University of Chicago where she studies religion and moonlights as a poet and baker. She is also a part-time seeker of Enlightenment.
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Carrie L. Krucinski is a poet working and living in Elyria, Ohio with her husband Steven. She is an MFA student at Ashland University and tutors History and English at Lorain County Community College. Oceano [Rodolfo Rios] (Mexico City, 1946) is a self-initiated artist with a charismatic and clean style that can probably be characterized by the appearance of cartoon-like characters that boldly explore topics like the claustrophobia of intellectual undevelopment, relationship issues, and mental disorders, among numerous others. Kristin Roedell is a retired attorney. Select poems have appeared in Switched on Gutenberg, Breath and Shadow, Autumn Sky Poetry, Eclectica, Tacoma’s City Arts, Damselflypress, Ekphrasis, Voicecatcher Anthology, Flutter, Pilgrimage, Frost Writing, Chest, Seeding the Snow, Amoskeag, Worker’s Write, Ginosko, Sierra Nevada Review, Soundings Review, Glass Poetry Journal, and Mused. She is the author of two collections of poetry: Seeing in the Dark (Tomato Can Press, 2009) and Girls With Gardenias (Flutter Press, 2011). Her third book is forthcoming from Legal Studies Forum Journal. She was nominated for DZANC’s Best of the Web, 2010, and for the Pushcart Prize, 2010. She is the Senior Editor for Flutter Press. Felino A. Soriano has authored 50 collections of poetry, including Of oscillating fathoms these nonverbal chants (Argotist Ebooks, 2012) and Analyzed Depictions (white sky books, 2012). He publishes the online endeavors Counterexample Poetics and Differentia Press. His work finds foundation in philosophical studies and connection to various idioms of jazz music. He lives in California with his wife and family and is a case manager and advocate for adults with developmental and physical disabilities. For further information, please visit www.felinoasoriano.info Dr. Ernest Williamson III has published poetry and visual art in over 380 national and international online and print journals. Some of Dr. Williamson's visual art and/or poetry has been published in journals representing over 30 colleges and universities around the world. His poetry has been nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology three times. Visit Dr. Williamson's website: www.yessy.com/budicegenius
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