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APRIL

punk poetry

2021

DISTURBING

CONTENT

DISTURBING

CONTENT

DISTURBING

CONTENT

DISTURBING

CONTENT

DISTURBING

CONTENT

DISTURBING

CONTENT

Laura Lane Splatter Painting 2011.jpg

unhinged

laura lane

The rice began to squirm

tiny almost imperceptible movements

playing tricks on my fragile mind

LAURA LANE

Maxwell Pretzer and Dylan Rebecca Keith.

WHAT A WAY TO DIE

maxwell pretzer

Lying in the mud. Spindly legs like

gnarled petrified trees. Some picked off.

Others reaching out for salvation that never came.

Not gorged upon but nicked and nibbled at.

Dismembered. Glimmering.

MAXWELL PRETZER & DYLAN REBECCA KEITH

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CHRIS G.

if i get like that put a bag over my head

simon alderwick

we know how it ends: our Cadillac flying

off of a high cliff

 

I should be listening to you

but you bring out the man in me

so I become my father

 

we kill our parents, wives,

boyfriends, bosses, 

 

family pets.  we leave a trail of dead—

enough for our own network documentary.

ABATTOIR

jo withers

The organ grinders' home,

Bleat and moan,

Meat and bone.

​

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expulsion

     at glen falls

maggie petrella

we were / face in the bowl 

leaking / from every pore

cold sweat / tear-eyed / snot-nose 

with the burn of / expelling /

what will / kill you if you hold it in

SARA DOBBIE

all the kids in my village have the same earliest memory

luke bateman

The look on the magician’s face

When he realised the rabbit

Had suffocated in his hat.

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untitled

paul veracka

Adam woke up

Broke off his rib

Told his first born you will never be shit

SARA DOBBIE

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SARA DOBBIE

URBAN

PORN

robin mcnamara

The urban man 

Ate his own erotic
Thoughts from 

The silicone chip
In his hand.

E. L. Blizzard art for 'A Survivor's Bab

E.L. BLIZZARD

A SURVIVOR'S

BABY LOVE

E.L. BLIZZARD

hands cover

two blackened eyes

peek-a-boo

MONSTER

anna nightingale

I was younger when I gripped my throat,

held my breath until my whole face turned cranberry-

capillaries bursting at my temples.

My teacher told me to stop,

the lack of oxygen to my brain

would affect my memory.

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untitled haiku

stephen toft

carrying the coffin -

the undertaker

says i'm a natural

SARA DOBBIE

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SARA DOBBIE

my son won't stop decapitating

the snowman

elizabeth muller

I kept trying to fix it

But honestly -

It felt better 

When we both 

Stomped it

With our boots.

MOTH EATER

McCaela Prentice

moth wings melt like wafer in the mouth

 

blood moon sits on the night’s shoulder like a nectarine 

 

acts of mercy are just like kissing-

 

the lacewings sulfating on the bug zapper are still 

just like kissing.

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david calogero centorbi presents,

AND BEFORE

THE FIRST DAY

god mixed existence with nonexistence 

and swallowed all that is

 

then pissed it out

 

and called it eternity

CHRIS G.

i read your fucking story

suzy eynon

is the most terrifying first line 

to read in an email from someone 

breaking a fifteen year silence

MAKES NO DIFFERENCE

sara dobbie

the nights can get bad

when the empty bathtub 

holds me

like a womb,

like a coffin. 

throat fuck

j henry

i want you

​

to throat fuck me 

until breathing

​

becomes an option 

Robert Fromberg_Mom Has Sex in the Rain.

ROBERT FROMBERG

mom having sex in the rain

robert fromberg

She leads us outside
Stands under the rain streaming from a V in the roof
Removes her blouse, her pants, her underwear
Rotates slowly, arms outstretched
Rain streaming over her breasts, her stomach, her pubic hair

As the family watches

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untitled

stoly manning

There was a part of me that still wanted to make you happy 

even when you left me. I took it out into a field, early april 

the grass was tall and the sky was blue and cloudless 

and I shot it 

STOLY MANNING

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SARA DOBBIE

SOCIALISM

daniel schulz

​

Mopping up the floor 

of a souvenir shop

for six euros an hour

while the radio is singing,

"A working class hero is something to be,"

on these bloody 12 hour days.

melts

james lilley

She pricks between the toes 

so no one notices 

some people don’t want to stop 

I want to tell her it won’t keep the monsters away 

But I just melt with her instead.

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CHRIS G.

monday is like a smoking habit you can't get rid of

fizza abbas

The day tastes bitter and dry,

like a dark patch you see on the lips of a smoker:

blemishes of one last apology

half-settled at the tip of the vicious iceberg.

taken

amy-jean muller

               I remember when I stole cigarettes

from my childhood friend’s father

               And when I sucked on them that night

It reminded me of Him

too

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SARA DOBBIE

my ex's favorite poet

kip knott

Your man T. S. Eliot claims that April is
the cruelest month. You left me in December
with nothing but the snow of windblown
drifts marking the emptiness between us
to soothe the burns that nearly consumed me.
What the fuck does T. S. Eliot know?

sara.jpg

SARA DOBBIE

portland

abigail swire

There's quite a view, a building space with arts studios, lights on, empty at night. 

The empty is art. We rode up the elevator past the 13th floor that doesn't exist in this place. Where is the 13th floor? I feel sorry for it. 

"My cancer is weird," she says. Says it with love. 

Like it's something you can hold.

MEET THE AUTHORS

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simon alderwick

if i get like that put a bag over my head

Simon Alderwick currently resides in Wales. His poetry has appeared in Coven, Dead Fern Press, Black Flowers and Ample Remains, among others. He writes Evil Eye horror reviews for The Daily Drunk. He's on Twitter @SimonAlderwick

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luke bateman

all the kids in my village have the same earliest memory

Luke Bateman is a poet and historian from Lancashire, UK. Recently, he’s been tussling with snake-gods, practising his pirate voice and dreaming of the outside world. His writings (in Neuro Logical Literary Magazine, the Minison Project and Glitchwords amongst others) can be found at linktr.ee/lukebateman, or follow him on Twitter @ekulbat.

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e.l. blizzard

a survivor's baby love

E. L. Blizzard lives in the US South and is published in a few handfuls of journals. After giving up on looking for the helpers, she tried to be one. She’s spent years in advocacy, allying with immigrants/refugees, cis/straight/LGBTQ+ survivors of intimate partner violence, and those experiencing homelessness.

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suzy eynon

i read your story

Suzy was raised in Arizona and lives in Seattle where she works in college admissions, knits, and writes. She once got into a screaming match with her sister in front of Suns basketball star Cedric Ceballos at a Phoenix area PetSmart. Her fiction appears or is forthcoming in Iris Literary Journal, The Nonconformist, Airplane Reading, and WORK. Twitter: @SuzyEynon, or suzyeynon.com.

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robert fromberg

mom having sex in the rain

Robert Fromberg has been shamelessly trading on his punk past for more than 45 years, when at the age of 16 he moved alone to New York City, worked at a place called the Village Stripper, and spent his nights at CBGB. Since then, he taught Serious Writing at Northwestern University and has published prose in Hobart, Bitchin’ Kitsch, Drunk Monkeys, and elsewhere. His memoir is forthcoming from Latah Books. Twitter and IG: @robfromberg

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j henry

throat fuck

j henry is a queer writer living in a dank bunker somewhere in s/e california. his words can be found littered in the rejection bins of numerous on-line and analog outlets but has found some success on the fringe, where he definitely belongs. for more go to www.jackhenry.wordpress.com

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laura lane

unhinged

Canadian author, poet and flash fiction writer Laura Lane balances the left brain with the right, mixing bookkeeping, taxes, and financial statements with poetry, writing and art. She lives by her computer, conquers her fears by skydiving and dreams of canoeing on the lake or reading books under the trees. Visit her website LauraLane.ca to learn more. @LauraLaneLSC Twitter @Hope.Strength.Courage IG & Tiktok

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stoly manning

untitled

Stoly Manning is an ex-smoker and current suicide blonde (dyed by her own hand). Twitter @stoliest

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robin mcnamara

urban porn

Robin McNamara has over 145 poems published worldwide in America, Canada, Ireland and in the UK with Versification, Pink Plastic House, Daily Drunk, Full House Literary Magazine, Dream Journal, Literary Heist & Ephemeral Elegies. Robin is regular contributor to Poetry Ireland and Black Bough Poetry poetry prompts. Robin’s debut chapbook, Under A Mind’s Staircase is to be published with Hedgehog Poetry Press in 2021. You can find Robin on Twitter @thewindingroad1

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elizabeth muller

my son won't stop decapitating the snowman

Elizabeth Muller is a New Jersey writer whose work has appeared in Catapult, Maudlin House, X-R-A-Y Lit, and elsewhere. Catch her on Twitter @brokengleams.

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anna nightingale

monster

Anna Nightingale is an editorial assistant at a London publishing house and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Her work has appeared in Aurelia, Porridge and Bindweed Magazine. She once won $500 in a selfie contest, and never lets anyone forget that. She tweets about books @annapublishing.

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maggie petrella

expulsion at glen falls

Maggie Petrella (she/her) is a poet based in Buffalo, New York, but is more likely to be found in her RV. Her work has appeared in Back Patio Press, dwelling literary, Southchild Lit, and others. She can be found online at maggiepetrella.com or on twitter @maggie_425.

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mccaela prentice

moth eater

McCaela Prentice is living and writing in Astoria, NY. Her first love was Brendan Fraser. Her poetry has previously been featured in Ghost City Press, Hobart, and Perhappened Magazine. Her poetry chapbook JUNK DRAWER HEART was published by Invisible Hand Press in 2020. She retweets frog memes @mccaelaa

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maxwell pretzer

what a way to die

Maxwell Pretzer is a writer and musician living in Los Angeles. He spends his time birdwatching, drinking wine and blowing out eardrums drumming in noise rock quartet, Sprain. You can find him on Twitter @MaxwellPretzer.

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daniel schulz

socialism

Daniel Schulz is a German-American writer, researcher, and factory worker, known for his short story collection Schrei and for inventorizating and curating Kathy Acker's personal library at the University of Cologne. His works have appeared in Der Federkiel, Luftruinen, Die Novelle, The Transnational, Mirage #5, Gender Forum, Fragmented Voices and the German anthology Tin Soldier. His most current work is Kathy Acker in Seattle (Mis-Fit Lit 2020).

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stephen toft

untitled haiku

Stephen Toft is a homelessness worker and poet. He lives in Lancaster, UK with his wife and their children.

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paul veracka

untitled

Paul Veracka (he/him) writes poetry. He hangs out with crystals and makes Scooby Doo references. He lives in D.C. and has poetry in Dwelling Literary, Bear Creek Gazette, and more. Tweeter at @meepmorpfan.

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jo withers

abattoir

Jo Withers tries to quiet the voices by writing small stories about big issues. You can find her recent work in No Contact, Fractured Lit, Ellipsis Zine and XRAY.

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