Gift

By Diane Boisvert

Wrapped in emotions
Colorful feelings
Tied with anxiety
High expectations

That beg not to be disappointed

Uncover with fervor
Feverishly tearing or
Neatly unfolding and
Saving the outer adornment

The inside is irrelevant

What counts is that it looks nice
My advice would be to...

Leave it as it is.

VITAMINS

By Nicole Kuwik

These past few
days have been
made of secondhand teeth and
three-year-old, full-flavored cigarettes

"they're harder to find,"
he says to me,
"so I smoke less of them."

We discuss the black spots
in my vitamins
and the drugs
in his tracking number, and
while planting forget-me-nots
in pinedirt
at midnight,
he says something
along the lines of
kissing my forehead

I chase strays
around the dumpster before
lacing his rough fingers
again
well, I've discovered
the expiration date on the
bottom of the bottle, it's
six
of oh, nine.

Worse Date Ever

By Diane Boisvert

It had promised to be a time in heaven - unsurpassed.

It was blind. I didn't mind. It was a date, alas!

I was assured the guy was great. I couldn't wait at all.
Turns out, though, this charming Joe was with himself enthralled.
He talked and talked and talked. When he was done he talked some more.
Tales of scoring with the ladies was a captivating bore.

Well groomed he was. I'll give him that, but then he couldn't miss.
The mirror was his best friend, which I'm sure he often kissed.

When all is said and done the date was not a total waste.
I gained a bit of wisdom. Narcissism has a face.

Fall of New York

By Steven Marty Grant

Fifth Avenue:
Umbrellas bob
down the sidewalk
like drunken
Chinese lanterns
and a cool wind
has invaded in
from the north.

Summer's anger
still seethes
below street level
but today refused
to bare its teeth,
opting to stay dry
in the warm refuge
of the train tunnels.

A week ago,
I was a stick of butter
greasing 23rd Street
on my walk to work,
and this morning
I was treated to a
coming-attractions reel
for Fall of New York.

THIS IS NOT YOURS

By Nicole Kuwik

How the fuck
do you tell when
a mango is ripe? and
why do I have to do this
 alone?

Unsure and fed up,
I cut it open
and decide that it
tastes something
like gumdrops.

Is this how things were
supposed to play out?!

Later, I listen to songs
about hot wind
in the western sky
and watch the cat
get stuck in the blinds.

Art

By Diane Boisvert

Design - creative discovery. Uncovering ideas and forms that have been transplanted from the heart. Yours for the beating repetative pleading.

Anger has its own colors. Red is the most advertised hue of rage, but there are others, too. They don't fight as vehemently to be known. Blue and white are not always clean and serene. Beneath the face of peace and purity hides another side.

The alter ego of art wears a coat of many colors.

Tread lightly on the fragile branches of the tree of art. Much screams to be revealed.

The unknown begs to be known. The known wants to hide. The astute student of art sees it all. Taking a few steps back gives perspective and lacks dominance.

I look at paintings in a new light. Now I can see the darkness as well as the light. shadows can't escape my trained eye. The eye that was taught

by life.

There was a time when I could have been deceived. Sharpness has relieved my quandry. Sceptical I have become, abandonning dumbness and
 naivity.

Art calls to me often, but I don't answer right away. You call yourself art? Show me!

OXYGEN

By Nicole Kuwik

I remember this
one time on vacation
when my PapaPaul had
said something that made
us all pair up and
leave him
standing by the rental car,

But then
his emphazema started
to bother him and
I remember the look
in his eyes when
he just
 couldn't

get enough air

Well, the other night
after all that
clear, clear liquor and
all those H2O tears,
I caught that look
gasping into the mirror,
and I'm still
not sure
what to make of it

Risky Business

By Diane Boisvert

It is such risky business, this business of life.
From the minute we're born we're surrounded by strife.
Surrounded by strife and ambivalance, too.
The danger starts after our birthday debut.
The fact we arrive without being announced
Takes very much nerve, and the risk is pronounced.
"Here I come, world, if you're ready or not!"
The business is risky. The risk is a lot.