Issue #30.2 A Triple Issue: Jon Raimon, Bradley K Meyer, Andrey Gritsman
A Poem by Jon Raimon
-rising-
tidy eggs & faux too green grass. one more plastic basket in a world littered with drek. she meant well, my mom, each
Easter. which I capitalize here in her honor, in her dis- grace, as she died and as she
lived. glamorous drunk, it is a thing my mom was, esp- ecially on holidays where dazzle and
glitter, rebirth and miracles, diamonds and chunky neck- lasses rule the moment, our hopes:
it all passes on, with egg hunts gone wrong. kent cigarette butts and cute glass pint gin bottles dug
up in the yard be- side the pre-fab eggs filled with cheap chocolate and blood money.
and that last egg, unearthed be- hind the playhouse where your big brother shoots up, rebirths him-
self til he’s van- ished; wee you finds it, that egg, months later. it’s odd. a near dead blue,
drained by the spring rain, the summer’s rioting sunblast. when you open it, there it is,
tucked tight, fetus like,
right beneath a traumatized
slug in her dazzling golden ooze: Love.
just plain old love. who the hell knew?
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Jon Raimon teaches personal and creative writing at a public alternative high school in Ithaca, New York. He writes along with his students, focusing on poetry and short fiction revolving around hope, resistance, grief, and family. He has been part of Spring Writes, Ithaca’s annual literary festival, won first prize in the New York State Fair poetry contest, and is involved in the open mic scene. His inspirations include the creek down the road, his children and students, and all kinds of rocks.
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A Poem by Bradley K Meyer
The Seasons
‘What the fuck are perfect places?’ -Lorde
In Paris, out of the corner of my eye, I watch two teenagers make out on the train. I get out to drink alone on the Seine. I think about the violinist who was robbed here twice in one week. I can’t tell what’s in the river, but a bird dives for it. I order a sandwich from a food cart and do this in French. The seller shakes his head, ‘Don’t... don’t do that. Just speak English with me.’ I admit to feelings of persecution. Unhappiness is so obviously a stronger emotion than happiness. Some people say that some people feel that in this particular city. Louise says the world is complete without us. Litter amongst litter. Sad, intolerable fact. Lauren says of another Lauren, ‘I love her because she’s my friend, but she is not an artist. She took one photography class, maybe two and now she has gallery shows.’ I finish most of my sandwich. I am probably not the form of superfluous I choose for myself either. A yacht churns. A cloud and some buildings reflect in its glass. If the sky here is not aware of me, the insects are. I paint them sky blue with a brush. I have lowered the sky. Someone throws a bottle into the river. The current does not even have a bird to pull along on its string. Calling this ‘Being and Nothingness’ would be too on the nose. I throw some bread in the river. Someone will want it eventually.
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Bradley K Meyer writes from Tbilisi, Georgia. Recent work has appeared in Biscuit Hill, BRUISER, Muleskinner and Right Hand Pointing. He teaches English.
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A Poem by Andrey Gritsman
SILENCE
Silence is a grateful state of the soul. When you can hear grass growing, deep underground rivers flowing to the precipice, cats conversing about us, watching our irreconcilable deficiencies. Your voice from the past is calling me, explaining what happened and what could have happened. And I just welcome this silence with open arms, all ears, still yearning for this last word, hoping it's not the last.
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Andrey Gritsman came to the US from Russia in 1981. He is a physician, poet and essayist, writes in two languages. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize several times and shortlisted for PSA Poetry Prize. Poems, essays, and short stories have appeared in more than ninety journals including New Orleans Review, Notre Dame Review, and Denver Quarterly, anthologized and translated into several European languages. He authored fifteen books of poetry and prose in both languages. He edits international poetry magazine Interpoezia (www.interpoezia.org) . Previous collections from Cervena Barva Press: Live Lanscape and Family Chronicles. New poetry collection Crossing the Line is forthcoming from Cervena Barva Press.
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