Shunned by the University for suggesting human existence consists of nothing more than the infinitely repeated cycle of birth, copulation, and death—Klimt guards his nearly finished mural with a shotgun, shouting to his detractors from the balcony of the Great Hall: “Is it my fault the jellyfish swamp the pier in Binz, captivating the young couple on their honeymoon? Is it my fault the woman’s…
From Field Marks by Daniel Biegelson
— 1. kingdom of ends O the round about (and O the rotary) American as this world is (beautiful as teeth) consumption is the lower and upper beak 2. If a rooster crows only when he sees light, in the dark he’ll never crow and in the dark ever even the minor irritations are iridescent. 3. Bee shadow on the table before…
The Beard by Bianca Lech
If you want to know why I don’t want to kiss you it’s because of your beard. In its shady growth, my love for you is growing moss. Your jaw-line is lost, your cheeks are inflated, your eyes and nose look too small. Kissing your face makes me think about kissing a vagina, which reminds me of your ex-wife and her female lover. At the…
A Parallax Reading by John-Michael Bloomquist
— Origen is writing another letter at his desk to the bishop: when you pray and lock the door, it will stay locked— worlds grow in this, mummified like a palm tree wrapped in thick bands of bark, trunk to green folds, needles at the clouds— those bowls of rice for rain— your prayer scratching heaven at the back of its throat. As the…
Life in a Foreign Country by Kathleen Heil
The body is a map of my own mysteries (here we say «they» not «my») I am they own foreign country. The longer I’m here the better I sometimes speak the language I sound more foreign (I am foreign all the time)…