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It's Been a While |
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Lonely
Painting by Monica Barrameda |
Kara Astrouski |
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The
Price You Pay by Clayton Beach |
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The
Tale of the Queen of Endor by Clayton Beach |
It’s
been a while since we last talked. I thought by now you would have called. Or would have asked. Or would have tried. Or would have wanted to know. Wanting someone to come back. Wanting someone to take their place. I’m still leafing through promises in my mind. I still hear a knock so quietly on the door. There is so much I wanted to share with you. Like I don’t sleep with the lights on anymore. I can sit through an entire Stephen King movie by myself. By myself. I vote Republican and Recycle now. I hold my tears in better when they start to fall. I’ve grown and you haven’t watched. But I’m ok. I understand. You had somewhere to go. Somewhere to be. I thought you would be back by now. I see other people and I want to call them you. I no longer ask about you like I used to. Now you are just gone. Obsolete. I’ve grown and you don’t know about it. When you left, you left a hope that I still carry. I put it in my pocket when I walk to school. I hold it close to me when I fall asleep. You would kiss me on the forehead, long, before I dreamt. And I knew I was forever changed. That I was yours before I had a chance to know you. That I was yours from the beginning. Whose am I now, when there is no longer you? Didn’t you want to be there when I turned into this? I could have sworn through those darting eyes, That was incapable of holding my gaze for long, I could have sworn you wanted to be there. Was I fooled? But it’s been a while since we last talked. I still have the board games we used to play. I no longer play them; I’ve out grown them. I keep the CD’s I never really liked, But you taught me how to dance to. When people ask where you are, what do I tell them? That you went away and never came back. How I never really knew you. How you never gave me the chance. Where you afraid of me? That I would find out about you? That I would not love you. You never gave me the chance. I wanted to ignore that phone call you never made. To do what you have done to me. Now I just want you. You weren’t there when I had to be strong. You weren’t there when I learned to be me. You weren’t there when I went calm. It’s been a while since we last talked. You never gave me the chance. But I will give you the chance. I will watch you grow and watch you make amends. I will be there because living without you isn’t so bad. And I know living with you will be much better. It’s been a while since we last talked. I know now I will pick up the phone when you call. I will give you answers when you ask. I will help you when you try, because I’m trying too. It wasn’t enough, you weren’t around much. But when you were there, we were there together. I knew I was safe. I knew I was yours. |
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Wintersong
by Clayton Beach |
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Mad
Dogs Bite by Janet Berend |
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Desert
Firefly by Taen Bounthapanya Third Place Winner, Poetry |
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Virtual
Reality by Taen Bounthapanya |
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Early
morning staring at an ugly fountain
by Breelyn Burns |
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Ten
Year Old Militia by Breelyn Burns Editor's Choice Award, Poetry |
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Arrogance
Unplugged by Rachel Busnardo |
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Goodbye
My Best Friend by Rachel Busnardo |
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At
a Small-Town Club by Jessica Conaway |
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Red
Stiletto Heels by Jessica Conaway |
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Naked
and Perfect T.C. Cook Second Place Winner, Poetry |
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Too
Far by T.C. Cook |
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Someday by Jermane Cooper |
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The
Girl Who Wrote This Stands at 5’ 2” (on a Good Day) by Shayna Coplan |
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Pontificating
Drunks by Dennis Dorsey |
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The
Symptom by Dennis Dorsey |
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Saturday
Night Pick-Up by Tanya Duer |
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Lost
in a Moment by Jamie Dykstra |
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Denizens
of Brilliance by Holland Elder |
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Between
His Futon and the Bedroom Wall
by Rachel Jones |
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Getting
Lost in National City Trying to Find Acapulco by Rachel Jones Angelo Carli Poetry Prize |
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Having
to Hide by Rachel Jones |
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I Used To Take My Anger Out On Plants by Rachel Jones | ||
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The
Piano by Rachel Jones |
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Words
Like Clay by Rachel Jones |
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Begetting
Tragedy by Chris Joy |
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My
First Last by Chris Joy |
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There's
No Problem Officer by Brittney Krier |
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Ernest
Hemingway (My Cat): A Villanelle by Melanie Maheu |
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The
Small Beauties of Marriage by Melanie Maheu |
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Do
The Punks Still Raise Their High Pumping Fists in the Air? by Brendan Mitchell |
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Love
by Natalie Parker |
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Watching
TV While Having Sex by Jessee Pugliese |
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partner by Ruth Rice |
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Blood by Rachelle Shull |
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Fall by Jacob Triffo |
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Time
Served by Matt Tweedie |
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Romance
to Reality by Aga-Marie Wehrly |
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Solicitude by Matt Whitney |
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Why
We Write by Karen Wooton |