Three Poems – Jill Khoury

DRUNK IN A MIDNIGHT CHOIR

“The Entire City” (1934) Max Ernst

Turncoat Erotica
after Kurt Weston’s Reticulation

I swallowed broken
glass to get here.

[Here is subjective.]

What I mean is
I rubbed vaseline

over my torso and scraped

myself along asphalt
to forget you.

After that I was pebbled,

gelid, licked. I can breathe 
under water; love me.



Anhedonia

The sun lowers itself 
through a chemical cloudstack
faster than my rate of breathing.

Light drips across the mouths 
of angel statues. Sloughs off 
the backs of dead war heroes. 

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The 2015 Writivism Short Story Prize Longlist

The Writivism Prizes

The longlist for the 2015 Writivism Short Story Prize has been announced today (Friday 22 May 2015). The longlist was selected from 277 entries received before the deadline for the prize submission. The panel of judges this year is chaired by Chika Unigwe and comprises Mukoma wa Ngugi, Tendai Huchu, Ainehi Edoro and Rachel Zadok. We are grateful to our readers for this year, namely Ceris Dien, Sumayya Lee, Emmanuel Sigauke, Lineo Segoete, Kagure Mugo, Patricia Egessa, Anthea Paelo, Saaleha Idrees Bamjee, for helping us whittle down submissions to a reasonable number for judges to select the longlist. Anthea and Idrees won the 2013 and 2014 Writivism Short Story Prize respectively.

The 2015 longlist comprises:

A Ball of Thread by Vivian Ogbonna (Nigeria)

Being a Man by Adeola Opeyemi (Nigeria)

Blues for Absalom by Erica Sugo Anyadike (Kenya)

Caterer, Caterer by Pemi Aguda (Nigeria)

Devil’s Village by Dayo Adewunmi Ntwari (Rwanda)

Dream

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A Forest of One

17Numa

I walk to the local park,

make my way into the woods,

and sit on this same bench

nearly every day of late,

where I look to my left

and see the heart

that was carved into the trunk of a tree

at some point in the past.

I think about the happy couple

that branded their initials

into the bark,

wondering if they still feel the same

about each other today

as they did back then,

or if, like most love,

the passion faded

as their time together passed.

Chemical lust is a pulsing fire

of white hot light

that rages without reason

through the heart and mind

of those who fall under its spell,

but the staying power of true love

requires a steadfast will

that only a rare breed

are able to manage and maintain.

I’ve felt such flames

a time or two myself

while making my…

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A Song unto the Ages

17Numa

The silence of white roses
with deaf petals
beneath a muted sun
holds the music’s place
in a steady embrace
while the implosive force of entropy
passes by in an instant’s blink,
and then rhythm is reborn
as melody blooms anew
toward a colorful fruition
of infinite solar expansion
that even the gods
dare not question,
lest the miracle’s magic
lose its elusive power
and get washed away
by a chorus of down-pouring rain
that flashes with a fluid voice
along to the beat of thunder’s drum
as splashes of electric ignition
light up the night sky
with tremors of a vibrating crescendo,
adding the tension of dramatic flare
to the opera of existence
that flutters with grace
between the dimensions of time and space.

The song of the spheres
rotates in tune with heaven’s frequency,
harmonizes with evolution’s wave,
and cascades with a celestial voice
across the infinite tide…

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What A Capricorn Woman Looks For In A Man

Charles Bordner's Blog

These are words written by Capricorn women of the type of relationship they are looking for with a man.  Notice the strong Saturnian qualities she looks for. 

Notice the keywords and keyword themes: Stable, loyal, faithful, responsible, long-term, sincere, serious, values, expectations, true.

Men: These are “job descriptions” required to be the single, most important man in a Capricorn woman’s life.  If you’re interested in applying, just make sure you have the credentials to back up your claims.  Then, if she’s interested, get ready for the best business partner you can imagine (with all the perks thrown is as well :-))

___________________________

I am looking for a caring, easy-going and good-looking man who loves good music, books and spending pleasant time together. He also should be open-minded and have a good sense of humor. For me family is the most important in the world and I want to find that…

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New Books and ARCs, 7/3/15

Whatever

To take us into Independence Weekend, please enjoy this stack of new books and ARCs, which have come to the Scalzi Compound. Which ones would you like to unite with your bookshelves? Tell us all in the comments!

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CHIKWADO-A short story by Caleb Somtochukwu Okereke

thenigerianwriter

The bristles, dark like unfettered charcoal crowding his chest twirl like a deformed leg. They contrast with the brownness his leathery skin reeks of as if someone had intentionally placed them there to make his chest region less alluring.

I am sitting on the broken brick wall that separates our class from the next staring at him. He is clothed in the school’s uniform. The stainless white shirt on black trousers, still to me he is still very unclothed. In my eyes, I see the long legged teenager who had coerced me into going with him to a friend’s house so we could ‘do’. I see a boy too reticent that boldness becomes a veneer that everyone but him can see.

He doesn’t notice me, he is talking to his friends. They are arguing about the validity of a rumour on the change of school prefects. He dips one hand…

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Dad who lost wife hours after giving birth to quadruplets celebrates his first Father’s Day

Heart Wrenching story ❤

Level indicator: Problem-solving Skills

Level indicator: Problem-solving Skills.

Gods Gift of Love by, Erica Chamlee (Dedicated to David Ishaya Osu and Saddiq M. Dzukogi)

Gods Gift of Love

Two souls,
lead by fate
to connectively
connect…
Both knew of loss…
Both knew of pain…
Suffering come
as a daily bread…
As poetry
became the gift
of both of their release…
Many days shared…
Many prayers prayed…
On their innocent knees…
Grasping moments of life…
Inhaling loves reason…
Holding onto one another with honor…
Through all of life’s reason, and season…
Unwavering friendship…
Deep, beheld , God fearing, brothers…
Grasping laughs at the shores thrust…
Often long conversing,
Leaning against the trees love…
Someday’s fate would keep them apart…
Tearful they still felt one another…
Understanding the God,
That eternally held ,
Them both within heart.