a fly on the cover
of Rolling Stone
does not stay long
some things are not
all that important

LeRoy Gorman – Canada

     bright summer morning:
            drowning kittens
     in the farm kitchen –
        Use warm water, she says,
so the cold won't shock them

Steven Carter – USA

Something about him
opens the doors of my ears
and I listen –
beyond his laughter and wit
a man who weeps

Marian Olson – USA

the woman
who talked nonstop on the plane
waits in silence
reclaiming that baggage
she left with a stranger

Ken Slaughter – USA

she gave me
every reason under the stars
except the real one . . .
her smile frozen forever
in our honeymoon photo

Chen-ou Liu – Canada