Table of Contents
Story My Mom Tells
by Richard Denner
1939: Globe, Arizona
and in the spring, about May
we visited some friends
lived up in the mountains
That was Geronimo's territory
and I asked Mrs. Craig
"How did you ever exist up here
with no roads and having to ride
mules to get out and to bring in
your furniture and Geronimo
running through the country?"
"You kept an eye pealed," she said
"and your kids close at hand"
Copyright 2001 by Richard Denner (rychard@sonic.net).
Reproduction is prohibited without express permission of the author.
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Dialogue at an Apple
by Marcus Lee
If you are a rose then where are your thorns?
And I don't want the taxonomist's answer, either
I know all that - I counted the petals
Anyway, I was being ironic
I know where your thorns are.
Does the Fall of man ring a bell?
Don't play innocent
Though frankly I don't see the allure
I mean, look at yourself:
Tough skin, chalky insides,
Not to mention seeds filled with cyanide
And don't even try to tell me that that one was a coincidence.
I suspect something was lost in translation
(Even assuming you were a fig at the time)
Don't get me started on Troy.
What do you mean, "What about Troy?"
Your fault, that's what
The judgement of Paris - ah, now you remember
And don't give me any more of that fig malarkey
Who ever heard of three goddesses feuding
Over a golden fig?
So...what are you doing now?
Apart from sitting on a desk, of course
You're for the teacher.
Brilliant.
Little Adam wants to give the knowledge back, I suppose
Thanks but no thanks
I guess temptation never does live up to its promise
Shiny on the outside, but dry as ashes once tasted
And a deadly poison in the middle, of course
You've got to admit it's clever
Really much better than a fig
Symbolically, at least
The red bit was just an added bonus
Poor old Adam.
Poor me, too, for that matter
Trying to carry on intelligent conversation
With a piece of fruit.
I've half a mind to chuck you out the window
In the long run, you weren't worth it
Even taking into account all the pies
At least the rose is honest
If just as allegorical
Wearing his thorns on the outside
Copyright 2001 by Marcus Lee (thenarr@hotmail.com).
Reproduction is prohibited without express permission of the author.
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A Taste Of Fall
by Kimberly Copeland
Mid-October morning frost
atop the pumpkin patch
suggestive of its pies served
ala mode
Copyright 2001 by Kimberly Copeland (lorenz2@ameritech.net).
Reproduction is prohibited without express permission of the author.
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Letter to the Editor: Cherie Staples (skyearth1@aol.com).