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of himself he had*
an all encompassing admiration
this aggrandizing love
steeped in deep fascination

his life's catch cry
arrogantly on display
none wore it with a
more qualified sashay

unto himself all glory
given supreme
some saw this as
being far too extreme

yet he'd not be humble
nor ever demure
there was a strong endearment
of own sinecure

love of thine
       for all time
love of thine
his coda's prime
love of thine
always enshrined
love of thine
so openly opined

with a conceit inflated
enraptured was he
a sure emblem
*of his doting spree
 Nov 2016 Stacy Mills
Kay Ireland
It’s difficult to stomach at first,
But once you start,
There’s no sense in stopping.
Eventually you’ll start every morning
With a cup of coffee,
And no matter what happens,
You’ll always remember just how I like it.

A few thousand miles
Is nothing at all
When you know I’m there,
Waiting.

You know that I will always
Answer the phone,
So I anticipate the vibration against my lap
Every time you’re drunk
And spilling out those rhotic words
And it takes me a moment to understand
Everything you say
So I fill the silences with quiet giggles
And you ask me why I’m laughing.

I’m laughing at you.
And I can see the goofy look on your face
Despite the rolling of the Atlantic
And the static it creates.
I blush just as much as I would
With your body next to mine.
I can hear you laughing, too.

Six months,
Just six months.

I hear your heart drop,
Heavy with an unknown sense of longing
For something you’ve never truly felt.
I wish it was sooner,
You say.
I wish it was now.
 Oct 2016 Stacy Mills
Ryan Cripps
I believe out of fear for
I don't know what happens next.
So I get on my knees and pray,
tracing a cross against my chest.

I don't want to fear,
but i don't want to miss a possible fact.
I don't want to be denied access to heaven,
and spend eternity staring into black.

I fear every day,
especially since I'm full of sin.
So I pray I'm forgiven,
I have no choice but to give in.
(c) Ryan Kane 2016
 Oct 2016 Stacy Mills
Mike Essig
The nervous afflictions
of poets drive
doctors to dismay;
it is difficult
and dangerous
to diagnose
a chameleon
in a thorn bush.

Integrity:

All these decades
thirsting in the wilderness
and still he refuses
to drink the kool-aid.

Delight:

He has lived alone
so long that
he has learned
to hug himself
and enjoy it.

Where is the illness
in either?
 Oct 2016 Stacy Mills
Mike Essig
the brilliant morning
no longer invites

every TV show
is a rerun

books that screamed
now murmur

even the body
speaks in the past tense

now becomes was

the falling away
of self
into shadow

even when time
falls and freezes
like winter leaves

the urge to consciousness
resists surrender

how we long for
bright new moments

right to the brink
of nightfall

even as the white flag of death

slowly unfurls
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