I love you, ok, byebye is a love poem in the form of a villanelle, and a conversation with five of the most famous poems with the same form. Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, William Empson, W.H. Auden, and Theodore Roethke, focusing on their treatment of love and death. Underneath the strict form runs Plath's dark absurdity, with flat, almost deadpan asides.... Read More

Rowing is a free-write (writing produced in one continuous, unbroken pass, composing start to finish in a single sitting, letting the language flow without pausing to fix or restructure, and only reading it back once it's done) written after repeated listenings of Peter Gabriel’s Mercy Street. It's a response to Anne Sexton's Rowing and The Rowing Endeth from The Awful Rowing Toward God. It explicitly rejects the Christian teleology the author grew up in, and reframes Anne's metaphor of rowing as a psychological journey rather than spiritual.... Read More

the invisible door the cruelest of all barriers gives hope of an opening no indication where, no instructions how worst of all it lets you see the other side maybe Gandalf will give me the word for friend in old elvish in new elvish or does the dark tongue show the handle? what if on […]... Read More

Colibris the tiny descendant of dinosaurs now living in a world of giants fragile, delicate, afraid of a butterfly yet still fast and daring Once the god of war and returning martyrs now a symbol of luck beauty joy love … love if only we could all have that character arc to wake up in […]... Read More

is the pressure valve for pain to cause pain? hurt people hurt people? don’t mess with me asshole you can’t hurt me anymore than I already am but I can make you feel my pain and then some regretting the words as they leave my mouth is anger a safety valve to release pain? when […]... Read More

Twins I’ve known the twins all my life unnamed in childhood and ever near dancing around me taunting bullying unwelcome and unexpected made their presence felt intimidatingly tall long dark locks dragging night behind her Dolores looms over everyone moving slowly she casts all in shadow leaving memories of darkness a fool’s hope for light […]... Read More

Respect your elders. This is a seemingly culturally universal sentiment that is older than written language itself. For good reason too. Back in prehistoric times, any member of your species that managed to get old, was either lucky or did something right that helped them survive. A little bit of reverence wouldn’t be a bad […]... Read More

So, this week, former chef turned rapper ‘Action Bronson’ has stirred up controversy again. This isn’t terribly surprising, considering his past, but also considering that more often than not, controversy sells tickets. Except for when it doesn’t, and shows get cancelled when the controversy goes over the top. Even though Bronson’s free NXNE show was […]... Read More