Turning Points
Before the Accident
by Adam Jeffries Schwartz
Before the accident
I imagined
if things ever got bad I could always kill myself.
It was just a passing thought,
then the bus would pull up
and
I'd forget about it.
I never specified,
never investigated possibilities,
never went on trial runs.
It was mist over a young mind.
After the Edit
by Kelly Sharp
The ink is dry and set
Each page printed, envelope
Addressed and ready
I caress the page
I've sweated, bled upon
One last time
I pulled it screaming
Naked and angry;
I gave birth to it
I brought it into light
Not just to purge it,
But so it might be read
Now to insert it
Back into darkness
To travel through the post
To clutter a desk
In tomorrow's stack
Of things to do
It may be reborn
Or it may returned
At publisher's whim
You Are a Source
by Deidre Abrahamsson
A source of new material.
You took me on my first
midnight walk
through the cemetery
in Cypress Hills.
You held my hand
as we scrambled up
the hill to where we
could view the
Manhattan skyline
and southern Queens,
sparkling beneath
the crescent moon.
You laughed when I
jumped at a sudden
movement in front of us.
You scooped up
a rogue frog.
It pissed in your hand
before it hopped off
into the dark.
You showed me your
favorite tree and
the Korean tombstones.
Across the Interboro
lay your father
who died 15 years ago
when you were only 15.
Your mother was left
with her 5 boys and
you would all steal
away - at different times -
up here
where it was safe, tranquil,
where you could be with
your father.
You led me to
Jackie Robinson's grave.
I hugged it,
whispering, Thank you
Jackie Robinson.
I couldn't help but smile.
Couldn't help
but feel in love,
in my distant way,
how we could
walk hand-in-hand
through the cemetery
and laugh and dance.
I showed you
how to Charleston,
you showed me
our city under moonlight.
What is going on here?
What is this that I feel?
I am flattered by
the attention.
I enjoy the feeling of
being with someone,
of sharing how I feel
and what I think
and what I see.
The clouds shifted
in the sky above us -
a genie, a crab.
Wispy clouds from
a Bob Ross painting.
Clouds almost black,
a sliver of a moon
that followed us
all the way home
as we walked
hand-in-hand.
You inspire me
and delight me.
You are a source
that never runs out.
Somewhere, Ireland
by Deidre Abrahamsson
The heavens spun madly
and my mind caught the rhythm
and took off in the opposite direction.
Soon they would collide
as we arrived in an empty starlit field.
I met the ground and then?
I don't really remember,
although I could guess.
It didn't matter anyway.
My spirit had already left my body,
floating, reaching for the moon.
He could do anything he wanted
and he did.
I am sure of that.
Although I don't really know.
We made it back on time
and me, with a run in my stockings.
Presentable enough.
Maybe a stray blade of grass or two
in my hair or streaks of dirt
on my face, if you looked
closely enough? But who would?
The party was over and we drove home.
I made it all the way without getting sick.
I just wanted to sleep, to get back
to that place, where my spirit would leave
my body again, so my mind would turn
off, so I wouldn't have to think.
Indifference
by Brandy Stoner
My father's mother
tells of picking blackberries
Not a cloud in the California sky
Cliff hears our grandmother,
his yearling ears vibrate with disinterest;
Instead he fiddles with the remote.
I stroke my brother's hair
to the rhythm of Grandma's voice,
swayed by the wisdom of her years
and the dancing still fresh in my bones.
Sister
by Laura Kayne
With chaos all around, I have nothing to do.
Too young to help, yet old enough to realise
The importance of this time.
Nothing will be the same again.
I wave them goodbye, clutching my grandmother's hand.
Everything goes quiet and we are alone
With nothing else to do but wait.
Time slows to an eternity.
I watch cartoons and eat sweets.
The temporary peace is suddenly shattered
By the ringing of the telephone.
The time has finally come.
Nine months waiting, over now.
My grandmother grabs me by the hand,
We dance with joy and laughter.
I have a sister.
I am a sister.