Poem
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Sexes
Aubrey Phoenix I didn’t like myselfWhen I was acceptable to others. My family would tell youThat I was most successfulWhen I worked for Sexes-A seemingly stable 9-6,Hardly above poverty payRelative to the tech-forwardNorcal SF Peninsula…But it came with an apartment,Health insurance, for the first time in my adult life,And a little bit of walking around… Continue reading
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Consequences
Benjamin Waldrum They’ll come for you next, you can count on that fact;They’ll keep coming so long as there’s more to subtract.They’ll trumpet their values — no faults, only gloss;They’ll arrive wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross. They’ll reduce human rights with the stroke of a pen;They’ll betray their own people, then betray… Continue reading
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Ego Death
Aubrey Phoenix That’s what I mean, though-Everything has burned down.I’m rising from the ashes,Albeit traumatized and shaken,But I’ve never felt more alive.It feels like The UniverseHas stripped me down to my bare soul-Pulled me apart into pure essence,Leaving behind scattered nouns and adjectivesThat I’ve claimed in this life,Ultimately, it all means nothing. I mean, seriously;I… Continue reading
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The Silent Era
Rick Doyle There was a time when Max was silent as a moon,as a satellite in transit behind the lunar pebble,as a man whose mouth is shoveled full of earth. It wasn’t just that he couldn’t speakin public — oh, no! He couldn’t whispersweet nothings, couldn’t utter a prayer,couldn’t even tell a knock-knock joke.And this… Continue reading
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The Spark
R.M. Carlson a heart breaks again,and another,and another… each time, each teareach betrayaldevastationthe thread of lovefollowsthe sharp needle: binding, mending, strengtheninglove awakening, eyes openingto the collective consciousness love abides in alla light to shinethe spark must be struckby the needle: binding, mending, strengtheningweaving all togetheras one stronger togetherone love, one lightdarkness is onlywhere lighthas not… Continue reading
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All the Naked Emperors
Patricia J McLean If we put them end to end all the naked menall the naked emperors from the firstin earth’s history to the lastthey would circle the globe.A million moons shining up at the skytheir mouths full of dirttheir penises sticking into the soft earthand their anuses would be singingreaching for a high notedescribing… Continue reading
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Everyone Loses in this Monopoly Game
Merril D. Smith The first square is empty, walkon the beach, envision a city,build it, they will come, ferry to railroad, Philadelphia day-trippers,vacationers, escapers, walk the Boardwalk,it’s the place to be seen— women in diamonds and furs—turn a corner, jumpa square, find the bootleggers and bookies,make a deal,over there, a new hotel. On another square,… Continue reading
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Vanishing Into…
Kate Bremer Luminous darkness between rooster callsLooking into pupil-less goateyes, connecting with her nose, the quiver,the crevice, the device, crevasse, the divine,Divide. Birdsong. The pottery next door–Cracked and kilned and built. StopAnd hear the aftermath of death–Crater of belonging–clotheslines full,Toys hidden, casinos buzzing. Far awayDonkey speaks, not one of ours.Forest Service mules have been fired;Some… Continue reading
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Hope
Rachel Armes-McLaughlin Days like todayit feels like all’s about to end. The earthquakes with thousands lost.The floods, never seen before.The fires consume forest and home. Democracy gone. Then nights like tonight, there’s hope restored: Cory Booker on the senate floor,making history. A record broke.Wisconsin, fighting back against purchased votes. Blue Violets at the park,and news… Continue reading
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My Body, Your Choice
Skylar Clark Written November 8, 2024 at 1:00am—an hour after the election results. I always dreamed of having children. Two boys. Two girls.That dream, that vision, it’s been with me as long as I can remember.A life of love & chaos, laughter echoing through the halls of a big house on open land. Dogs running wild, playing with the kids.Their… Continue reading
The Chaos Section Poetry Project 