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 Jun 2014 Julia
r
Morning Prayer
 Jun 2014 Julia
r
A whispered
call to prayer
across the pillow
my muezzin
your adhān
awakens me
to the sun
a new day.

I rise and kneel
in worship
in supplication
I hasten to you
my confession
in adoration
I vow, I bow
to please you.

r ~ 6/23/14
\•/\
   |   حي على الصلاة Hasten to worship
  / \
 Jun 2014 Julia
Terry Collett
What are you reading?
Atara asked.

Book on Schopenhauer,
I said.

Dull reading.

Depends on what you like.

She sipped her coke,
her eyes studying
the cover of the book.
Is that him?

Yes, old photograph.

She looked at me.
Why do you read
such dull books?

Maybe I'm a dull guy.

She smiled.
Not last night.

I closed the book
and laid it
on the table.
I sipped my beer.

Does he talk
about ***?
She asked.

Not that I’ve read
so far.

If a book doesn't mention ***
it isn't worth reading.

Maybe I should read Freud.

Why read?

I looked at the waiter
passing the table,
his clipped moustache,
his deep eyes.  

You read,
I said,
not heavy stuff,
but you do read.

I like my books
like I like my men:
not too deep and fun.

I said nothing
about my books
and women.

She didn't have
the depth
and she taught me
nothing,
although
that session
in the bathroom
had insight.

The way she had it
right down
to a fine art,
the subtleness
of her limbs,
her gyrations,
her lips and tongue.

What now?
She asked.
I fancy a walk
on the beach,
catch some sun.

You go,
I said,
I want to chill out
with a cold beer
and watch life go by.

She pulled a face sulkily,
but went off,
her hips doing
that thing they did
when she was annoyed.

I watched her go,
sipped the beer,
icy cold
like I enjoyed.
BOY AND GIRL IN YUGOSLAVIA IN 1972.
 Jun 2014 Julia
Alyanne Cooper
Alright, I'll confess it.
I would change everything about you.
Your bangs should sweep left to right,
Not right to left like you have them now.
Your cocky half smile quirks too much
So I think you should tone it down.
The way you shrug one shoulder then the other
In some comedic fix of antipathy
Should be more pronounced and firm.
I'd like it better if the shoes you wore
Weren't the same pair day after tired day.
Oh, and I think you're better looking
If you'd try to wear any makeup at all.
Really. Anything would help at this point.
I would change everything about you.
The way you talk, the way you walk,
Your affability towards people,
Your desire to learn and know the world.
I would strip you of everything you are
And have and know and love
And make you into someone new,
Someone different, someone...whole.
Because with all these not so bad qualities
I see in you through your wary eyes,
Are a host of demons lurking
In the black parts of your soul.
And I would rid you of them
For they haunt you and scare you
And turn you into someone I don't know.
If it means all the things I love and cherish,
All the quirks and smirks that make me smile
Must die in bloodshed as well,
Then so be it.
I would change everything about you.
If it meant that the things that drive you mad,
That tear you away from my side
In a fit of chaotic turbulence,
That make you cry uncontrollably in the dead of night,
Would all be expelled from your being,
Then I would gladly give up
The person I love
In exchange for someone else.
For I would rather you be someone totally different
And still holding my hand,
Than to see you drift further and further away
Into the darkness of your mind.
 Jun 2014 Julia
Emily Dickinson
378

I saw no Way—The Heavens were stitched—
I felt the Columns close—
The Earth reversed her Hemispheres—
I touched the Universe—

And back it slid—and I alone—
A Speck upon a Ball—
Went out upon Circumference—
Beyond the Dip of Bell—
 Jun 2014 Julia
That Girl
Axe
 Jun 2014 Julia
That Girl
Axe
You smell like grade six

The grade I hated the most.
The year that tarnished my simpleness.
The year I asked all the wrong questions,
      and got all the right answers.

The year of lies and fake friends.
The year I thought would be the best for me,
      but turned out so wrong.
The year the darkness started.

Man, you remind me of grade six
    in more ways than one.
Thankfully that year is history
   and I've long since graduated.
Graduated to something much better
 Jun 2014 Julia
Nat Lipstadt
how many generations can
lay with you in your bed?

Matriarch Mama,
honorific due you,
title earned, not learned,
and now a teaching PhDs  of
Matriachal Science

let us have tea,
a tea party in you garden,
and the granddaughters
dressed in their church finest,
running noisy but that's ok,
mass is over, and the party
is now a backyard affair

me, a recorder,
standing in the corner,
invisible observing,
leaning on that old banyan tree,
smile playing on
my eyes,
counting
cousins daughters sisters,
and best of the best,
grand babies wilding in their Sunday finery,
even seeing
invisible fathers standing beside me,
but espy only one

Matriarch Mama,
sallying forth,
gunslinger of poetry,
nobody messes with Sally,
she is the brood defender,
poetess not
of the day

she is a
generational inscriber,
an author of a
gene pool of life's best,
her existence,
from heaven, sent a manna,
to feed-across-time
just one family,
an ordinary,
if such there was,

**Matriarch Mama
Look what I found in my files...
 Jun 2014 Julia
Terry Collett
At the clubhouse‭
in Malaga‭
in the base camp‭

I danced and drank‭
in turn‭
sometimes‭
at the same time‭
sometimes I sat it out‭
at the bar‭
and smoked and drank‭
with Miriam‭

you dance good‭
she said‭

you reckon so‭
I said‭

yes you dance ok‭
she said‭
she sipped‭
her gin and tonic‭
and looked‭
around the club house‭

the disco music‭
is a bit old hat‭
she said‭

it's ok‭
at least‭
you can‭ ‬dance to it‭
I said‭

we sipped more‭
of our drink‭s
and sat in silence‭
for a few moments‭

Picasso was born here‭
she said‭

what here‭
in this club house‭?
I said smiling‭

no here in Malaga‭
she said‭
read it some place‭
I don't like his art‭
she said‭
makes me want‭
to throw up‭

you sure it's not‭
the *****‭?
I said‭

no I mean‭
when I see it‭
she said‭

I love his art‭
it speaks volumes to me‭
I said‭

poor you‭
she said‭
I see nothing in it‭

each to their own‭
view of things‭
I said‭
Picasso touches me‭

don't I touch you‭?
she said‭
wouldn't you rather‭
be touched by me‭
than Picasso‭?

depends on the touching‭
I said‭
he touches my soul‭
where would you touch‭?

she giggled‭
and sipped her drink‭
be telling wouldn't it‭?
you didn't complain‭
the last time‭
I touched or rather‭
we touched‭

she looked back‭
at the dance floor‭
and at people dancing‭
not my fault‭
if the tent‭
was too small‭
for much action‭
she added‭
looking back at me‭

small is beautiful‭
sometimes‭
I said

she gazed at me‭
with her bluey green eyes‭
her hair in tight curls‭
I’d let you come‭
to my tent tonight‭
she said‭
but that fussy cat girl‭
is sharing with me‭
always yakking‭
about her cats at home‭
as if I cared‭
what she calls‭
her **** cats‭
and what she does‭
with them‭
what about your tent‭?
she asked‭

no I got the ex-army guy‭
in with me‭
and he talks on and on‭
about his family‭
and how they don't‭
understand him‭
and how he got‭
chucked out the army‭
and so on‭

a‭ ‬Beatles song‭
was playing‭
I got up to go dance again‭

and she said‭
go dance Benny‭
go show them‭
how its done‭
she leaned on the bar‭
her eyes closing‭

I danced‭
drinking the dregs‭
thinking of the last time‭
I lay‭
between her legs.‭
BOY AND GIRL IN SPAIN IN 1970.
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