18-35



Ballad of the Nervous Air Passenger


How do I hate to go up in a plane,
up in the air so blue.
Oh, how I think it's the scariest thing
ever a tourist can do.

Up in the air 10,000 feet high
through the clouds grey and white,
my nerves run amok, I certainly cry,
I can't bear an aerial sight.

When I look down on the land or sea,
I can only imagine the fall
down through the air clutched by hard gravity.
It's a wonder I travel at all.

by Paula Mahon

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Paula Mahon hails from Derry, NH, where she works as Medical Director of Healthcare for the Homeless in Manchester, NH. She has 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 grown son out of the house and sort of self sufficient, and a husband who cheerfully tolerates the mess that creativity produces in their home.

18-34



Sigmund Freud

"A dream," said Freud, "can set you free,
Psychoanalytically.
Exposing truths within your mind
That your conscience just can't find.
But still my own dreams puzzle me,
For since I made this theory,
I can't figure what it means
To dream about a hill of beans."

by Bob Lorentson

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Despite not having an MFA, Bob Lorentson persists in writing. When not writing he likes to indulge in his passion for wondering. He is a wonderful wonderer who wonders about nearly everything, including why he would write this silly bio when he could be wondering why he can't find a publisher for his novels. Recent stories and poems however have found homes or are in the adoption process at Sleet, Praxis, Better Than Starbucks, Leaves of Ink, and Quinnehtukqut. He lives in rural Connecticut.

18-33



The Code Not Taken

Peace is Our Profession
Strategic Air Command (SAC) motto

Two codes converged in SAC H.Q.
and worried I could not discern
which one to enter. Seconds few
to verify... is that a "1" or "2"?
What the Hell: Give the key a turn...

I confirmed the first and that's enough;
I'll bet the second is a decoy code.
I picked the first—it wasn't tough,
and took aim at the Russian stuff.
I told my crew to lock and load.

And moments later that fine day,
in scrambled codes I knew by heart,
the order came to send the birds away!
"Our duty not to question why," they say...
I flipped the switch and let the missiles start.

I shall be telling this with a sigh,
after I smelt the burning stench,
two codes emerged from SAC H.Q., and I-
I entered one that let nukes fly;
and that has made all the difference.

by Charles Kersey

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Charles Kersey, @charleskersey, is an IT Systems Analyst to pay bills & artist-humorist during his off-time. His work has appeared in Network Computing Magazine, Candelabrum, WordART, art gallery walls, and discerning private collections. He served in the US Air Force but was never allowed near push buttons or keys without "supervision."

18-32



A Briefer History of Time

A Briefer History of Time

It's now.
And then,

It's now again.


Something About Birds

Birds are settled among the wires
like a staff of music notes.
Song notation for avian choirs?
Or, just warming feet on invisible fires
and staving off sore throats?

by Alan Harland

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Alan Harland blah blah blah.