whitewater rafting ospreys & bald eaglesoverhead i’m front left paddling madlywetsuit soaked guide said it’s not for waterproofing it’s for warmth i’m panting hopingthat a wave or boulder knocks me inthe water // combat soldiers who survivea battle swear they’ve never felt so damnedalive as they did under fire or soi’ve read // i like... Continue Reading →

I long to find GodIn the subtextOf a seaWith ill-fated vesselsOn this bayWhere missing departuresMean each voyageWill rarely return,From those ocean shelvesGrowing steeperAs they further sailFar beyond themToward shimmering depthsNever witnessedBut until that shipAlways sinks –Still below what blueMerely beckonsIf such wayward keelsFail intentlyWhen revealing faithBarely navigatesEvery jagged wharfFacing waves,Wading starless nightsOver shorelinesAcross building sandsNearing... Continue Reading →

I forget the name of the dog upstairs.His owner never fails with mine.Maybe it’s her hobby to remember,the way children learn cars or airplanes.A husband beat her, she told meout of nowhere. Just like that.Only last spring, the arid seasonthey call spring here, the dog's owner livedwith someone.Fiancé, she called him. An old-fashionedword, or maybe... Continue Reading →

The bouquet of honeysuckle vines,subtle sweetness carried on the breezes,encompasses your authentic aura.Like the white petals blooming,the sunshine radiance captures the essence of your smile;your kiss is honey dropswhen the stem is pulled through the fragile flower. Photo by Czapp u00c1rpu00e1d on Pexels.com About the Poet: R. Gerry Fabian is a published writer and poet... Continue Reading →

my brother jumped off a cliff and now my bird has no friendshe couldn't bear the heavy burden of being the only child in a broken familythe milk bird with cast-iron feathers falls downa boat with two oars rocks in the moonlit water: and I have no friendheavy as chitin: this is the pen with... Continue Reading →

More to everyone’s surprise than to our sorrowKang, my best high school friend, left us only nineDays after his lung cancer was diagnosed. SomeAttributed his sudden demise to his stinginess (heHated to pay out of his pocket to hire a nanny to takeCare of him though, being a cripple, he’d completelyLost his mobility due to... Continue Reading →

He always liked to walk among the dead--for him it was a secret pleasure to imaginethe lives of once breathing, thinking beings.He would stop at each tombstone, curiousperhaps more than reverent, for he had longknown the body was just a set of clothesthe soul wears in a world where appearancesmatter more it seems than what... Continue Reading →

A butterfly landed on the concrete by my feetits wings orange and blackIn my mind I organize butterflieseither “not a monarch” or “maybe a monarch”This is not a monarch and she knows itShe dances circles on the sidewalkopens and closes her wings shylyas if weighed down by her own beauty Photo by Jonathan Borba on... Continue Reading →

My house is worth moreThan the balance of my debtGood news for my kids Photo by Binyamin Mellish on Pexels.com About the Poet: Editor and author Philip Athans has been a driving force behind varied media including Alternative fiction & poetry magazine and Wizards of the Coast. He lives and works in the Pacific Northwest.

Mounds of plowed snow look like bumpy sheep's wool, and even though sun is brighter than an arc lamp, it will take many days for these mountainous accumulations to melt. Temperatures have stayed below zero for two weeks. During these interminable, January days, spring exists as an elusive phantom, a season wished for, unattainable as... Continue Reading →