- At the Outset by Jay MacLeod
- Stardust by Chrissa Sandlin
- A Cappella by Melissa Studdard
- Taking Flight by Mangesh Naik
- Bride Price by Sari Krosinsky
- Let Down by WC Roberts
Taking Flight
by Mangesh Naik
Underneath the tongue
dark enough for possibilities
Salt eyes open her lap
not mine. Like answering.
This is when
I expurgate my vulgarity
on the bed accidentally painted
the way bees hum.
Saving womanish water
with swipe of my tongue
to paint the sunset
when no one is looking.
Insisting on a sentence
telling less and less
sealing my lips
with wind-free clasps.
Yet I stir the liquid
in my glass. It's a matter
of semantics. Leaving
drink as suicide note
There is no revision.
no conclusion my head.
Skins are coins
buried in the bed.
BIO:
Mangesh Naik lives and works in Pune, India . Recent Credits/Upcoming: DeCOMP, Poetry quarterly, Barnwood Magazine, Right Hand Pointing, Other Poetry, Third Wednesday, Grasslimb, Silver Blade