On Second Thought
You seem to think I won’t,
but don’t
think I’ve forgotten how.
Stop, now--
mere repetition’s numbing.
I’m coming
to dread this endless drumming.
Let’s take a breather. No,
I don’t want you to--oh,
but don’t stop now, I’m coming!
by Susan McLean
Susan McLean teaches English at Southwest Minnesota State University. Her poems have appeared in The Chimaera, 14 by 14, Mezzo Cammin, Lucid Rhythms, and elsewhere. A chapbook of her poem, Holding Patterns, is available from Finishing Line Press.
Graphic Nature
I've watched a lion kill a wildebeest
And seen a great white eat a porpoise whole;
Before my eyes a jackal made a feast
Of the bloody ribcage of a zebra foal.
There is a fascinated audience
That yearns to have the whole thing televised
To spare us from more grisly world events.
by E. Shaun Russell
E. Shaun Russell is a musician and formalist poet based out of Vancouver, Canada. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in a variety of publications including Writer's Journal, Main Street Rag, Shit Creek Review, The Deronda Review and Lucid Rhythms among others.