JANUARY 2021 – THE CITY POETRY
\n———————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

$\"6$

kissing the electric flower by pm pope<\/p><\/div>\n

_<\/p>\n

$\"ashley$

ashley wilson<\/p><\/div>\n

_<\/p>\n

If the Dogwood buds\u2019
\nTightly shut eyes
\nWould open
\nThey would see that spring
\nIs speaking full sentences<\/p>\n

But they wait
\nTo hear the frogs singing
\nFirst.<\/p>\n

– Heather Ann Shepard
\n_<\/p>\n

Love Is A Lot Of Silly Refurbishing<\/p>\n

I have a feeling that she doesn\u2019t like me,
\nbut I am afraid to ask. She\u2019s older than me
\nand has had plenty of guys in her room.
\nShe says she likes sitting with me
\nat the senior center, but she does not ever
\nsmile when I say her name. One time I
\nasked her if she wanted my babies. She
\ndid not smile as she told me sex was now
\nout of her nature. That day she sounded
\nlike the ingredients in a bottle of ketchup.<\/p>\n

But I still love her though she still does not
\nknow it. The one time she told me I was
\ncute has formed itself upon my chest. She
\nlives in a small neighborhood near Solon.
\nI live in a 2 bedroom bungalow on the other
\nside of town. I went to her church once,
\nbut did not see her in the first service. She
\nmust have slept in that Sunday. One day
\nI will walk up to her and ask her to marry me.
\nShe will say yes, and come sleep with me.<\/p>\n

Daniel Gallik<\/p>\n

_<\/p>\n

$\"9$

9 – Self-Isolating on the Moon by JJ Stick<\/p><\/div>\n

_<\/p>\n

birds chirp. & trees bark.
\nskies open wide & wonder
\nwhy I’d close my heart.<\/p>\n

~ Maxwell Shell, from haikus to hide you with<\/p>\n

_<\/p>\n

FEVER<\/p>\n

Talking to her was like recalling
\nA landscape I had seen in a fever. The
\nSummer was upon me and I had been
\nFeeling the rhythm of July.<\/p>\n

The heat had hands and often held me too
\nTightly making me think I had heard something
\nI had not, but was sure I had. Her voice
\nSeemed to find distances within me
\nThat had real substance, overly familiar,
\nEven intimate.<\/p>\n

She disappeared into a silence
\nI could not comprehend.<\/p>\n

~ D.R. Wagner<\/p>\n

_<\/p>\n

In the August mural<\/p>\n

Your thighs open
\nYour birthday cake is made from light
\nYour mother tilts the thrift store mirror
\nthe telephone rings
\npennies roll from heaven
\nwater rolls off a duck’s back
\nthe world is born the turtle returns
\nthe smiling week leaves its seconds
\nthe church is a brewery
\nthe crow brings honey
\nthe temple is of corn
\nthe sunflowers riot
\nthe earthworm fingers the soil
\nthat nurtures the potato’s heart<\/p>\n

~ Lady<\/p>\n

_<\/p>\n

$\"Pipe$

Pipe dreams by Chris Green<\/p><\/div>\n

_<\/p>\n

$\"athena$

athena by bree<\/p><\/div>\n

_<\/p>\n

WEN I WUZ EATING<\/p>\n

Genghis Khan
\nwen suddenly materialize before me<\/p>\n

in da fast food restaurant
\nwen I wuz eating my meal.<\/p>\n

He told me dat he wen kill moa warriors
\nand bagged moa women<\/p>\n

den I could evah hope to
\nin one hundred lifetimes.<\/p>\n

I wuzn\u2019t impressed<\/p>\n

and I wuz actually moa irritated
\nwen he kept asking me<\/p>\n

why I nevah like mayonnaise
\non my burger.<\/p>\n

He keep pressing da issue
\non how much he enjoyed it<\/p>\n

so I had to tell him
\nif he liked it so much<\/p>\n

den moa bettah
\nhe go order one foa himself.<\/p>\n

Genghis got angry wit me<\/p>\n

and two huge bodyguards wit daggers
\ninstantaneously appeared at his side<\/p>\n

and dey wuz staring me down.<\/p>\n

I told him and da adah guys,<\/p>\n

\u201cEh, Temujin,<\/p>\n

no try muscle in on me wit your goons
\nespecially wen I minding my own business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Genghis wen go ballistic
\nwen he heard dat<\/p>\n

and he started ranting and crying
\ncause I wen use his kid name<\/p>\n

dat wen remind him
\nof his rough and unfortunate boyhood.<\/p>\n

I heard he had to wear wun big yoke
\naround his neck foa awhile<\/p>\n

but I nevah have anyting to do wit dat.<\/p>\n

Howevah<\/p>\n

making him aware of his past
\nwen work foa me<\/p>\n

cause Genghis<\/p>\n

went storming out
\nda front door of da fast food restaurant<\/p>\n

taking his bodyguards wit him.<\/p>\n

Now I could at least enjoy my meal
\nin peace.<\/p>\n

Dats wat I taught<\/p>\n

until Attila the Hun
\ncame out of da restroom<\/p>\n

and sat down in front of me.<\/p>\n

Maybe because of his bloody reputation<\/p>\n

he kept asking me
\novah and ovah again<\/p>\n

why I put so much ketchup
\non my French fries.<\/p>\n

I almost wen answer him<\/p>\n

wen Alexander the Great
\nwen burst through da front door<\/p>\n

and immediately pushed to da front
\nof da line<\/p>\n

so he could order wun strawberry shake
\nand wun new world taco.<\/p>\n

I tell you<\/p>\n

dis is da last time
\nI coming to dis place on Halloween.<\/p>\n

~ Joe Balaz<\/p>\n

_<\/p>\n

$\"smith\"$

smith<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JANUARY 2021 – THE CITY POETRY ———————————————————————————- _ _ If the Dogwood buds\u2019 Tightly shut eyes Would open They would see that spring Is speaking full sentences But they wait To hear the frogs singing First. – Heather Ann Shepard…<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"homepage.php","meta":{"spay_email":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1463,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/484\/revisions\/1463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecitypoetry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}