One Cowgirl, Two Cowboys The village of Peterpan, OH seemed to nearly buzz with activity. It was the first Friday of the month, the biggest day of the month for this small town. On first Friday evenings, unless it fell on a holiday, the village held a dance party and everyone that was anyone in …
Sep 24
Michael D. Grover reviews THE DEATH FACTORY by Wayne Mason
Wayne Mason/The Death Factory/LJMcD Communications Wayne Mason and I have been Florida born Poets and have known each other for over 20 years. We both know what it takes to be Florida Poets and we’ve always had a healthy respect for each other. I felt Wayne’s last chapbook was some of the best Poetry I’ve …
Sep 23
THE POLISH HAMMER POETRY CORNER: In The Kingdom of the Blind, The One-Eyed Man Has To See Some Pretty Stupid Fucking Shit by Karl Koweski
In The Kingdom of the Blind, The One-Eyed Man Has To See Some Pretty Stupid Fucking Shit I hadn’t been awake for more than five minutes. I’m trying to pour coffee into my Kill Bill coffee mug (a mug some folks would describe as vintage which blows my mind because, goddammit, I …
Sep 22
Super Cherry Extra by Misti Rainwater-Lites
Super Cherry Extra This is what I have this super sexy old school gas station in the desert coldest Coca-Cola hottest hot dogs for six hundred miles in any direction usual suspects on the jukebox humming near the girlie mag section the neon is cherry and there are no bugs no snakes no puddles of …
Sep 21
Lines by Aleathia Drehmer
Lines I struggle with the worthiness of visibility, a lifetime spent hiding from my own shadow, from the voices that only wanted to see me, not hear me. I lived under an umbrella, the rain on the inside– always a cloudy day always a chance of rain, though I remembered the idea of sunshine. I’m …
Sep 20
Blood on the Barroom Floor by Alan Catlin
Blood on the Barroom Floor When it was over there was so much blood on the barroom floor it looked as if all of the pigs in the world had been slaughtered and dumped here for effect I didn’t have much worthwhile to say to the cops I was just so visibly impressed I let …
Sep 19
The Difference Between A Massage Parlor Open at 2AM and an Acupuncture Place Open at 2AM in Lawrenceville by Dave Newman
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MASSAGE PARLOR OPEN AT 2AM AND AN ACUPUNCTURE PLACE OPEN AT 2AM IN LAWRENCEVILLE Thank god the massage parlor doesn’t put needles in your dick but, then again, the acupuncture place doesn’t give handjobs. Dave Newman, a recent Pushcart winner for fiction, is the author of ten books, including Better Than …
Sep 18
Capsule by Damon Hubbs
Capsule According to the questionnaire you’re not emotionally stable enough to get bangs which makes sense considering you just had your 19th nervous breakdown. This is before the vampires bleached their teeth, before the Seaport became the Seaport and our pizza place in Haymarket closed, when the giddyup girls still dated Satan’s men and Princess …
Sep 17
Small Town Hot Summer Afternoon by Dan Denton
Small Town Hot Summer Afternoon the warm bath of summer sun on skin the burnt tar smell of fresh squished black top children moping about outside but not playing the indoor whisper of central air conditioning the listless quiet of trees and their leaves bone white sidewalks empty with nowhere to go the “shoo-wee buddy” …
Sep 16
THE POLISH HAMMER POETRY CORNER: What If I Just Never Got Political? by Karl Koweski
What If I Just Never Got Political? Until a couple days ago, I didn’t know who the hell Charlie Kirk even was. Being a white, male American of decidedly bad ass Polish stock, I have the luxury of ignoring the completely batshit crazy situations trending on the six o’clock news. Fortunately, I have an …