GUEST POST // Ears Wide Open (Dublin – A Rite of Passage by Miljenko Williams)

The voice of Mils makes butter melt.
His poems are lush, heart-freakin’-felt.
Yeah, lend an ear and you will agree
He deserves to be our first nominee
For audiohood on site Unbolt.
His talent is a much needed jolt
To lift our game and write effin’ good,
To not fear being misunderstood.

Dublin – A Rite of Passage

Before I was soiled: I was
oiled unhappy;
toiling and boiling like
cauldron of darkly wizard-
like pose;
a fingerpinch of spite,
of masculine passivity,
of man who never was become.

Now is another matter:
now he is become:
now he runs like training-
man; now the game no longer judd-
er[r]s, shakes or shudd-
er[r]s out of mind, or sight of flailing
in-
com-
pet-
i-sham.

And of all the sites and scenes delivered,
like rapt-
tured box of heavenly gifting,
the rite of pass-
age which most delivers me
is the right of
so
passing close
you do

give me.
The laughter and tears;
the fears and the hurts;
the love freely expressed:
the goddamn life you contain and inscribe
and so simply
define, with your brain and your being and your

goddamn beautiful face;
your his-
and your her-
and them-
stories bloody out there you unfold and retell and
spin ingeniously around me and my soul and my
being and my hell;
still untold, still unfollowed, still unknown by
most out there.
Dublin: I love you, more
than you
know.
Dublin: I love you, because you and your people
weirdly know how
to make me this [s]well: [s]weller
than [s]weller ever was.

And whilst time is still ours, the future is still
built – upon pasts that are passed;
upon guilts that begin slowly to wash away in
[time-
{s]-
hhh} I say, as
I discover the suddenly that the man
I become is more than the son of his father.

And pictures and faces and sounds and dis-
graces; sexual wroughts that pilfer
my thoughts and make me
happy again; as
happy as free man and
woman can be.

And the days and nights I pass
in remembrance of Dublin
past, and future maybe perfect too,
remind me all the time of you.
And a life recovered
is a life remade;
retaken as warriors burrowing violent
under-
growing and gnawing and
hurting and sad,
and ultimately the [bad-
d-
es–
{t]-
i-
me} of all
is what has recalled me away from
the life I could
live.

And maybe it’ll work, and maybe it won’t,
and maybe it’ll break us;
but if we don’t try and see, and check in and check
out,
we always shall rue the night-
and day-
t-
i-
me-
s
we refused to
pursue the
one life we’d lead
and even enjoy:
good Lordy, oh my …

:-)

… that really such a sin?
To hope for such win?

So I begin where
I start: before and after a-
part of so many experiences,
imagined and real; the soul
and the heart I have refound in
Dublin.
And then what is real if not in the hug
of your embrace?

For a future
begins to replace the before and
after which started so hurt,
and now begins rightly to
away fade to
black …
… not the black of all bad, nor the
black of all pain; just the
black of all colours: the
rainbow of
sane.

Text by MILJENKO WILLIAMS
© All rights reserved 2016

Six Word Stories Omnibus: Volume Four

Hemingway sawed a cello to death.
Stole a urinal from a bar.
Still he was a literary star.
Hoover was jealous of his talent,
But we don’t have to be.
Behold! The stories below of thee!

Story 1:
Wow! I am most truly honored!
Story 2:
I cannot breathe in the kiss.
Story 3:
I see what you both did.
by Gregory Stackpole

Story 4:
She inhaled deeply. Oh, the pressure!
by Sarah Jayne Nantais

Story 5:
My eye opened, small man inside.
by J. Zorro Kennon

Story 6:
He was your mother, you fool!
by The Scarlet Swallow

Story 7:
Oops! I missed all the fun!
by Kay Geegh

Story 8:
The sun set. Their souls rose.
by Aaron Farrell

Story 9:
Till we meet again, dear friend.
Story 10:
To separate from mediocrity, become unbolted!
Story 11:
From far away, it was clear.
Story 12:
She was enticed by his glance.
Story 13:
With temptation comes the ultimate penalty.
Story 14:
Pardon me, is this seat taken?
Story 15:
I will only say this once!
Story 16:
Ok… maybe I’ll say it twice.
Story 17:
Do those count as six words?
Story 18:
The ultimate temptation; the forbidden fruit.
Story 19:
Help is on the way, ma’am!
Story 20:
Her body melted into his arms.
by Robert Charles

Story 21:
Unyielding, her sorrow refuses to release.
by Katherine Marguerite

Story 22:
Off she walked, towards the light.
by Dprssdmind

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2016

GUEST POST // You Know This (Word) by Madam Marmoset (with Tetiana Aleksina & Tony Single)

Labels are not for people
Mores change and fade
No matter how we do it
Twixt the rainbow and the rain

Hear my refrain, hunter
Learn to differ targets
I am not a rabid beast
I am a human free

We’ve lost touch with our hearts
Our identities are rubber stamped
Society dictates our self worth
And we willingly eat the crap

Hear my refrain, hunter
Learn to differ targets
I am not a rabid beast
I am a human free

Whatever you are inside
However your heart beats
That’s where you’ll find your tribal groove
So let’s just call it what it is…

by MADAM MARMOSET, TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2016

GUEST POST // We, made of paper by Candice Daquin

We
Made of paper
Write our words
In careful ink
Watching how
Underside
Bleeds
***
We
Made of
Fog
Obscure our
Walk forward
In obstacle
And loss
***
We
Made of
Wrung hands
Gather yet dry
Clothes on line
Before rain
Unbidden
Falls in noiseless
Sheets
Turning lawn
Vivid green
***
We
Made of
Incomplete
Stitch
Find no
Substance within
Wicked light
Dashes birds from roost
Darkening impending cloud
Like spilt ink
The words
Of my stained
Radiance
Dried and smudgeproof
With furied
Element

by CANDICE DAQUIN
© All rights reserved 2016

Six Word Stories Omnibus: Volume Three

The aghast ghost of Hemingway harrumphs,
“I haven’t sufficient six word stories,
you fools. Less is not more.
More is more. Feed me now!
Make me a corpulent fiction fiend
for minimalist tales – my Hors d’oeuvres!”

Story 1:
I’m stuck here, tomorrow never arrives.
by Bloghettihoops

Story 2:
Yeah! I will surely try them!
Story 3:
All of them are so cool!
by Meher

Story 4:
Eyes are the most attractive part.
by Bridget the Ladybug

Story 5:
His are cold, hers are dead.
by Violet Online

Story 6:
It’s strange this six-word thing.
Story 7:
Excuse an Englishman his cricket metaphors.
Story 8:
Hit by lyrics of a miss.
Story 9:
Scrub the nonsense will you please.
Story 10:
I can’t resist these damn things!
by EDC Writing

Story 11:
“Let’s talk.” He closed his eyes.
by Wordwool

Story 12:
Every word makes you ask questions.
by Nadia

Story 13:
“I see,” said the blind man.
by Colin and Ray

Story 14:
Red dripped slowly. Paint? Blood? Jelly?
Story 15:
Just watch out for the puddle.
Story 16:
Bear! Bear? Bear! Crossing the bar.
Story 17:
Wild ducks. Overhead. Winter. Quacking up.
by Dunnasead

Story 18:
Old eyes recognize smile–new friends.
Story 19:
All about you didn’t work well.
Story 20:
Venus de Marshmallow… guy loves plump wife.
Story 21:
Wow wow wow, this is fabulous!
Story 22:
Oh wowza, that’s a great one!
by Azul

by TETIANA ALEKSINA & TONY SINGLE
© All rights reserved 2016