Not a Vacation

This is being
away from home
whether you want
to be or not,

being in the air
with nothing
between you and
a 20,000 foot drop

to death except
some aluminum
and a little wind.
This is sleeping

in strange beds,
lugging the ball
and chain of jet lag
through every meal

and conversation.
This is fast food
at the ferry dock,
picnics with children

you do not know,
and the sheer
strangeness of being
alone on the patio

while relatives you
no longer know talk
about the good old
days when you were

a lad of eighteen
and didn’t have a pot
to piss in or a window
to throw it out of.

Christopher Thomas has been publishing poems in for many years. His work has appeared in Amelia, Bay Windows, Chiron Review, Duckabush Review, Evergreen Chronicles, The James White Review, New York Native, Paramour Magazine, and others. Some of my work has been anthologized.
Lone Willow Press will publish his collection, The Smell of Carnal Knowledge, sometime in late 2009.
Creighton University maintains a web site on Nebraska writers. You can find additional data concerning my writing career, bibliography, photo, etc., if you’re interested. It can be accessed at http://Mockingbird.creighton.eduNCW/Thomas.htm

Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.

Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.

Our children wander aimlessly
poisoned by cocaine
choosing to indulge their lusts,
when God has said abstain

From sea to shining sea,
our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God's love
and a need to always pray

We've kept God in our
temples, how callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool,
and Heaven is His throne.

We've voted in a government
that's rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges;
who throw reason out the door,


Too soft to place a killer
in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.

You think that God's not
angry that our land's a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
before His judgment comes?

How are we to face our God,
from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
but stem this evil tide?

If we who are His children,
will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face
and mend our evil way:

Then God will hear from Heaven;
and forgive us of our sins,
He'll heal our sickly land
and those who live within.

But, America the Beautiful,
If you don't - then you will see,
A sad but Holy God
withdraw His hand from Thee..

Judge Roy Moore via Jeff Callarman

DANCE YOUR LIFE AWAY

In this duplicitous world,
Two-faced Devils foxtrot
To the beat
Of your favorite
Tune.

by Jaime Ferreyros

Art Feels Pain

Art feels pain
Statues Cry
Tears of stone
Even in the rain
Granite hearts beat Heavy
Limestone egos can easily break
Beneath layers of Sandstone
Dolomite made a fatal mistake
He asked to be a sculpture
Not like his cousin Shale
And now he aches with hurt
From the lifting of the veil

Joseph DeMarco was born in New York City; he lived most of his life in Buffalo, NY. He now teaches seventh grade on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. He is the author of the novels Plague of the Invigilare, The 4 Hundred and 20 Assassins of Emir Abdullah-Harazins, At Play in the Killing Fields, and Blind Savior, False Prophet. He is currently working on several new projects.

Coffee Break

Unannounced
Tranquility rattles
Serenity speeds
Calm becomes chaos
Money is chief
Sin is in
Control is out of control,
Hope Faith comes back home soon.

by Jaime Ferreyros

After the Onslaught

See the onslaught of hearts

of souls
people

not bruising
but dying

bleeding into the dry earth

falling like yesterday’s rain
and the day before that

but not tomorrow…
witches told the people
they would come
but they died and are gone

the myths are gone
but God Almighty remains

why do you sacrifice
yourselves for that?

you will surely die
soon enough

from sin...
from death...
from war...

God is ready
are you?

by Ron N. Cervero

WWJD

As you walk thru life
Your friend suddenly
Stabs you
Someone else
Punches you
Your girlfriend/wife
Is unfaithful
You’re robbed
Bad mouthed
Harassed
Envied
Yelled
Cursed
Undeservedly fired
Threatened
Deceived
Ridiculed
Tortured
Your brother
Steals from you
And as it gets worse
And your reaction
Could become
A chain reaction
Best stop and think…
…What would Jesus do?

by Jaime Ferreyros