Puzzled Possession Source: Poe, Edgar A, and Jacob Schwartz. The Purloined Letter. London: Ulysses bookshop, 1931

When he said War is all hell, That was his heart’s truth Maddened by the carnage And the gadfly press He sank into morbid thoughts and shrank from command Until a rough-hewn tanner’s son Awkward, unworldly, prone to Dissolving his discomfit in drink Yet confident,…

Let’s get this out of the way, before we begin so there will be absolutely, positively no doubt. I no more want to be associated with having Daddy issues than the source of this poem wants to be known as Daddy Franco, King of the…

I keep catching glimpses of a new way of being in the world but can’t hold on to the vision. Like a lichen too dry after years of drought to hold onto the rock when the wind comes up. Or like mist that floats through…

All stories I told were believed with blind faith — A tenant reading my cards for a quarter or seeing a tall black man with purple shoes outside my window — met with interrogations, concern Leaving me in a paralysis of shame unable to admit…

she speaks to me simple words nothing earth-shattering and a fog of anger detaches from my mind releases its clutches through no effort of mine

Popular things for 1975 time capsules Bell bottoms Leisure Suits A pet rock named Fran A cracked mood ring A Jaws movie poster One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Glen Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy on eight track A Course in Miracles Judy Bloom’s Forever And King’s…

Flags unraised, envelopes unopened,   letters left unwritten. Perched upon   highest pole, mailbox now sits empty.     (A tricube is composed of three stanzas of three lines each, and each line is made up of just three syllables. I used the writing prompt…

Relax, Jack, at day’s end there’s no more strife or duty. Fill the tub, grab some wine, and jump into the Jacuzzi. If you wish to merely chill or lift those petty thoughts aloft. Put your Bosch head phones on and listen to Rachmaninov.  …

Text Prompt You find a time capsule buried in the backyard of your new home (or anywhere else, depends on you). What’s in it? How old is it or its probable story is up to the poet. Contributed by Bhasha Dwivedi. Image Prompt Three bottles…