Mimic Blue Woman - Blue7

REMEMBERING LOVE

Our company's president called us with the rather sad news of his father's passing. He was an 80 year old man who left behind a widow. And my boss, he says, "Listen, We're all here
on borrowed time. Whatever check you cashed in the beginning, is all you're gonna get." And I get to thinking, Everyone gets their their own amount of chips to play. Some spend it right,
others don't. And the results are rolled by the dice.

One man's greatest moment, a 75th birthday, a championship goal, a child's birth. Some for others - A walk through the park with their granddaughter, a shotgun blast, a diamond ring wedding. The day it rained. The day it did not. The day that champagne glasses clinked for only their names.

May it not be a day realized after, and already lived. One more chance is all we ask, to see once again what all those clouds are smiling about. Amen.

Adam Cohen

EARLY DEATHS

“Death, that strange being with the square toes who
lived way in the West.” - Zora Neale Hurston

My friend told me recently
that all the schools around
here Photoshop out the
rolled eyes, stuck out tongues,
messy hair, & obscene gestures
from the class photos.

There aren’t any more class clowns.
It’s all artificial now.
Almost like Disney World.

My 1st grade class picture was
an early success in burnout
tracking—
Nearly all the kids, w/ their
dirty, wrinkled shirts &
mini beehive, blendered haircuts,
became hoodlums.
Heather may have become
a majorette, but she
twirled that baton between drags
of Kools; Scott may have
become a good running back,
but he smuggled swigs of Pabst
during practice.

Melissa J. Craig

Then there was Louie—
a tiny, dustbin remnant of
a boy who showed me my
1st picture of a naked lady—
She was the 8 of Diamonds, I think,
w/ black hair, big boobs, showing
all her stuff for all the curious
little kids & all the lonely truckers
around the states.

Louie’s brother, Rick, was a year
or two older than me—
We used to watch kids fall
off the monkey bars to the
cracked concrete below
during recess.

Louie & Rick never got the
chances to cop feels w/ girls,
to drink beer behind school,
or to get high before gym class.
You see, during that summer,

Louie & Rick went out in a small
boat, w/ 2 men & a dog,
onto Lake Erie—
The boat capsized during
a storm, & only the dog
came back.
A beagle, I think.

Some girl—a girl who always
reminded me of Miss Piggy—
told me their bodies
washed up on her beach.

I don’t know about that.

But I know they died, my mother
showed me the newspaper article,
& asked me if I knew them.

“Yeh. They’re my friends.”

Jason Williams

STACK PLAYD

wasn't dealt a fair hand,
the first to admit. wasn't
playin with a bag full of
nuts, never bluff on an
empty sack,
(and never look back)

so the best hand's gone to
another man. go on, play another
hand. yer on a real short stack.

u got no givins, only misses.

what's in yo buckle now
's more than wishes.

play's u go, u going
to swim w/ the fishes.

looks like the table's yours now!

well, better rake it in.
sweep it like a sandcastle
(king of table manners)
u know we won't take back

what's yours (looks like the whole rack).
everything at yo disposal, u got it all, man.

you know u played your stack.

Bree

THE LOSER

I like to wager
when the chance to win
can be calculated.
I know,
there is also a chance
to lose.
Horse favored to win
by all the experts
doesn’t feel like running today,
can’t tell us why.
Black comes up
ten times in a row
on the roulette wheel.
Now….
Bet the bundle on Red.
Ball skitters and bounces.
Sure enough, it’s not black.
This time it drops in…...
the slot for Zero,
the color of unripe tomatoes.
The ultimate gamble
is to fall in love.
When all signs say go ahead,
proceed with loving caution.
Horse didn’t tell you
if he felt like running.
Sure bet on Red
turned sour Green.

Loren Weiss