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Urban Life [part two]
44th street
how the tourists dawdle
when I'm so late
Mykel Board
A man asks directions —
hand over
his mouth.
Alexis Rotella
bending for a dime
two businessmen
bump heads
Michael Dylan Welch
bus stop —
he lets the mini skirt
board first
Carol Raisfeld
on the city bus
BEEP!
Granma checks her pager
Mykel Board
Bus gone
and so is
his toupee.
Alexis Rotella
Homeless man
tells the barking dog
"Get a job!"
Herschel Silverman
the window washer
girl-watching
without turning his head
Barry George
porn theater poster
promises
ACTUAL SCENES INSIDE
Bob Brill
at the drive-in movie
i undo her bra
double feature
Alan Pizzarelli
roadside billboard —
a teen mother holds
her four kids
Jian Zheng
doing 55
in the left lane —
doing her eyelashes!
Mankh
terminal station
swell ahead — shouts
a drunken traveler
Sasa Vazic
approaching subway
he leans out over the track
looking the wrong way
Mykel Board
Rush-hour subway —
pressed against a stranger,
our faces expressionless.
Alexis Rotella
the men on both sides
have taken
my armrests
Karen Sohne
he keeps making room
but no one sits next to him
in the subway car
Jeffrey Rabkin
end of the line
the conductor starts turning
the seats around
Cor van den Heuvel
Credits:
"bending for a dime" from Fig Newtons -- Senryu to Go, Press Here, copyright (c) 1993 by Michael Dylan Welch; by permission of the author.
"the window washer" from Frogpond 26.1, copyright © 2003 by Barry George; by permission of the author
"at the drive-in movie" from Senryu Magazine - out to lunch, River Willow Publications, copyright © 2001 by Alan Pizzarelli; by permission of the author.
"Rush-hour subway" from Carousel, Juniper Press, copyright © 1990 by Alexis Rotella; by permission of the author.
"the men on both sides" from A small Umbrella, SS, copyright © 1995 by Karen Sohne; by permission of the author.
"end of the line" from Curbstones, Chant Press, © 1998 by Cor van den Heuvel; by permission of the author.
POPULAR CULTURE
8 AM
I turn on the TV
to see what the weather is
Mykel Board
bored teenager
watching Vanna point
among the squares
Larry Gross
awards ceremony —
the ecstatic star hugs
her golden globes
Carol Raisfeld
TV sex
the ads
multiply
LeRoy Gorman
horror movie
commercial break
my son follows me into the kitchen
Karen Sohne
after the news
snapping closed the lid
of a prescription bottle
Dana Duclo
when she's not looking
I switch
forks
Tom Clausen
Price tag still attached —
rich kid riding
his motor bike.
Alexis Rotella
white haired and genteel
leaning over to inspect
the dog's poop
George Mills
over an hour now
she's tried
different shoes
Tom Clausen
changed my mind
half way through
the tattoo
Jörgen Johansson
scouting ceremony
all the mothers
with short hair
susan delphine delaney
the feminist
reads her speech
dressed like a man
Alan Pizzarelli
Labor Day
long at the mirror
a bald man tries on hats
LeRoy Gorman
To thank or despise?
When she says, "You dress well for —
A woman your size."
Linda Delmonico Prussen
he admires her dress ...
fantasizing
how he would look in it
Carol Raisfeld
the interior decorator
tells the nudist
"the drapes don't match the rug"
Alan Pizzarelli
Hawaiian beach
in inverse ratio to their girth
their bathing suits
Mykel Board
fun house music
the pretty vendor flashes
her tongue stud
Mathew Spano
yuppie girl's
sidewalk hopscotch
fifty squares
susan delphine delaney
Credits:
"TV sex" from nothing personal, proof press, copyright © 2001 by LeRoy Gorman; by permission of the author.
"horror movie" from Woodshavings, Spring Street Haiku Group, copyright © 1994 by Karen Sohne; by permission of the author.
"white haired and genteel" from Seer Ox No.2, Michael McClintock editor, copyright © 1976 by George Mills; every effort has been made to contact the author. If anyone knows his address, please contact the editor.
"the feminist" from Senryu Magazine - out to lunch, River Willow Publications, copyright © 2001 by Alan Pizzarelli; by permission of the author.
"fun house music" from Modern Haiku, 37.3 copyright © 2006 by Mathew Spano; by permission of the author.
Marriage, Divorce, and Other Arrangements
second time round
this time she chooses someone
not like her father
Dina E. Cox
that wild whisker
the razor always missed
finally snipped by his new bride
Jim Doss
He forgets
our anniversary —
pond scum.
Alexis Rotella
her eyes travel
to his shirt collar —
smudge of lipstick?
Chris Mooney-Singh
feeling guilty, she
decided not to leave him—
yet.
Jessica Lafortune
ah! to be with
who I thought you were
last summer
Barry George
after the divorce
she fits back into
her old dress
Alan Pizzarelli
old flame
not as handsome
as he used to be
Dana Duclo
blind date
she brings her dog
up for a drink
Bob Lucky
new crush —
dabbing perfume
in forgotten places
Brynne McAdoo
I came by cab to tell
how I felt about last night
but could not press the bell
Chris Mooney-Singh
a knock at the door—
the simple hello
that means so much more
Jim Doss
written in salt
on the diner table
a lady's name again and again
Jim Doss
Taps...
the widow folds her life
and puts it away
Dave Baldwin
Credits:
"ah! to be with" from Solares Hill, copyright © 2005 by Barry George; by permission of the author.
"after the divorce" from Kiss and Part — Laughing at the End of Romance & Other Entanglements, Edited by Gail White, published by Doggerel Daze, a division of Poetic Vision Press, copyright © 2005 by Alan Pizzarelli; by permission of the author.
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