Everyday we walk to our spots
Bait our hooks
Cast our lines

Sometimes no nibble to give us hope
Don't be frustrated
Don't be discouraged, just cope
Don't feel like you're at the end of a rope

Don't give up fishing for dreams
Persevere in life's ocean, sea, or streams

There's the catch of a lifetime
Out there waiting for us prime
Losing faith is a crime
Reel in your dreams anytime

Monique Nicole Fox

DEAD MEN

dead men
don’t care what the surgeon general thinks
dead men
drive around with no place to go
dead men
figure the come-on at the end of the bar, more trouble than she’s worth
dead men
hold alcohol in a medicinal light
dead men
will sleep in their work clothes
dead men
never have to RSVP
dead men
buy cars, and smokes, based solely on price
dead men
avoid eye contact at any cost
dead men
doodle on the obituary page
dead men
drive on bald tires with cracked windshields.
dead men
accept with resignation, the next days hangover
dead men
listen to Coltrane, and Davis, start to finish, no interruptions
dead men
don't floss
dead men
will take their Sake cold
dead men
take the long way to work
dead men
don't sweat expiration dates
dead men
never wear bandages
dead men
are past blaming anyone
dead men
see horse-shit and diamonds the same
dead men
don't care where the candle-wax falls
dead men
forget what day of the week it is
dead men
can’t get to sleep at night, can’t wake up in the morning
dead men
have nothing in their hands
dead men
never ask another chance
dead men
have stopped trying to make sense
dead men
play dumb when they know they’re being lied to
dead men
have made the connection between sorrow and desire
after losing the one thing he loves
a dead man will spend the rest of his days
anesthetizing the past
pouring gasoline on the future

dead men
have no fear of dying the second time

Thom Kellar

STRESS

somewhere far below
valley of shimmering silicon
hidden beneath dying branches
of a train track Willow
2 Mexican v-necks work up a good buzz
drinking malt liquor-swapping lies
cross-tie compadres
with all the accouterments of the homeless
loosely thrown into a Safeway food cart
Henry laughs at Ricardo
"mas cerveza cabron"

the Hispanic boys can see themselves
in the tinted glass of a southbound commuter
on the inside-upper deck-Lawrence-marketing wunderkind
studies a memo regarding changes
in the company's 401K plan
8 hours of giving corporate head-home he goes
it's Thursday-that means Pasta and Seinfeld
one more day of tap dancing and the weekend is his
Saturday he's got tickets to see Jagger and the Stones

Ricardo picks up a small rock
he likes the feel of the granite in his hands
carefully setting aside the can of King Cobra
he cocks his arm and lets fly
too late-the train has passed-the target missed
inside the moment
Lawrence feels sharp pain to his forehead
"stress he mumbles"
ransacking his briefcase for Anacin
(he thinks to himself)
"there's no way Susan and the kids
will ever know what I go through
to bring home the bacon"

Henry laughs at Ricardo again
"you can't hit shit" he says

Thom Kellar

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