the minison zine
TRANSCRIPT
the minison zine The Minison Project
© all our wonderful, respective authors
issue 6 contributors:
Sadie Maskery ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Anna Kirwin .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Cindy Hill .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Elizabeth Bates .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Billy Antonio ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Deryck N. Robertson ................................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Kris Hiles ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Munira Tabassum Ahmed ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Karlo Silverio Sevilla ................................................................................................................................................................................ 14
Yuu.I ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Leanne Shirtliffe ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Elizabeth Vrenios ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Alan Bern ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Shelly Jones .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 22
Kieran Wyatt ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Reena R. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 24
Katie Manning ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
James R. Tuck .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Jared Beloff .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 29
Nicholas Ravnikar .................................................................................................................................................................................... 30
Rhiannon Grant ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Makaila Aarin ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 33
V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi ................................................................................................................................................................... 34
Ankur Jyoti Saikia .................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Anisha Kaul ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36
Vera Hadzic ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 37
Gaiyle Connolly ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 38
Keri Withington ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 39
Mary Ellen Talley .................................................................................................................................................................................... 40
Alison Bainbridge ................................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Sarabeth Sabella (sb<3) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 42
5 | P a g e
Till Death Parts
I break, but there
is no place for me
except here, your
sleeping face my
world, a universe,
a lifetime lived.
Loved. Time’s sand
runs gently over,
tips the glass, on,
over, and we drift
hands held tight
across the sheet
until you fly far
beyond the dream.
Sadie Maskery
6 | P a g e
14 Petals, Sadie Maskery
7 | P a g e
Love Letters End
Glow in darkness
Soft hand on hand
Burn bright, love
Firework frenzy
Non-robust heart
Broken with ease
Feckless deceit
When should I cry?
Quietly waiting
Reminisce often
Reimagined past
Hope - stay strong
Now’s not forever
Better next time
Anna Kirwin
8 | P a g e
Not A Second Date
He did not call me
nor did I call him.
Lost connection
happens on a whim.
Inertia grows up
like a stone wall,
casts a grey pall.
Days lapse, banal.
Our only evening
is lost in memory
when next we meet.
Worth repeating,
so our next foray
is our first, anew.
Cindy Hill
9 | P a g e
Botanical Dream
I lived inside of
the picturesque
botanical dream,
to wade through a
garden of pastel,
neutral yellows,
until the growth,
maturity so near
permits embrace
of the baby-toned
blue, blossoming
into an innocent
perfect pigment:
botanical dream.
Flower Bed’s Edge
The peachy aroma
of wedding roses
are fragrant now
in anniversary; I
relive memories
until a scent and
remembrance are
married, until in
ceremonial bond
aromatic love is
the perfume that
the garden wears—
the celebratory
flower bed of joy.
Elizabeth Bates
10 | P a g e
5 minisons
first... date... convo
dre(am) date blues
dinner dateless
roses are red day
s(pee)d dating gag
Billy Antonio
11 | P a g e
Dreams
Look deeply into
My heart forever
Because I cannot
Live without you
Breathe without
The air you bring
Into these tired
Lungs Touches of
Patience and joy
That linger long
After the day has
Ended and dreams
Have become real
Dreams: your love
Deryck N. Robertson
12 | P a g e
aheartusaheart, Kris Hiles
13 | P a g e
The Creation of Tides
to love is to ache
eager, hold honey,
yield fresh calm.
moon wet and gold,
dawn water’s told
‘darling, we’re new.
when we turn back,’
kind reprise now,
‘we’ll soften soil,
lilt rested silt.
tend to th’ tender
ready up th’ tides.’
she cups the vows,
says ‘love is cast.’
Munira Tabassum Ahmed
14 | P a g e
3 minisons
goodbye, an f word
i can’t hug myself
i’m over you (sniff)
Karlo Silverio Sevilla
15 | P a g e
Letter to Poetry
Letter to poetry.
You give me space
to exist, to smile.
You are sole tree
on my ground, then
you color it deep
green to make the
place more vivid.
Dear poetry in my
heart, you plant a
seed of love in me,
let it bloom on my
hands to write on
a notebook to you
My Partner
A cup of coffee is
my partner. Every
time I write, that
scent of silence
releases me from
a slump, and tells
me that I can spin
waving words and
can make a velvet
shape. My partner
emits misty love,
inspires me, then
lets me write for
myself, for world.
Yuu.I
16 | P a g e
3 minisons
love is not a poem
don’t hold me back
divorce is plan b
Leanne Shirtliffe
17 | P a g e
Four cans of Aqua
Net sit on my sink. They help add six inches of hair to my 5 foot 1 height. Bleached, teased with rat-tail end of a comb, hair too sticky to be caressed. Stiff sprays keep me intact even in the back seat of a 56 Chevy. It is our prophylactic of choice in the 50’s.
Elizabeth Vrenios
18 | P a g e
Stolen
Mice creep again over my linoleum into the kitchen gnawing away the plastic wrapper on my blue rubber spoon. I hold on to the handle eaten away by appetite much like the day I see a pile of gay porn in his shirt drawer. Our Trust now broken apart.
Elizabeth Vrenios
19 | P a g e
No Regrets
One moment – that’s all it takes for a sunlit ground to disappear under soft footprints. We think of a song we can't remember except for a tiny melody we forgot, in a memory we hum. Yet all agree is a remarkable tune, but never lasted in the fading air.
Elizabeth Vrenios
20 | P a g e
5 minisons
love’s retreats
1 old sweetheart
our luv rebegins
what a mess, love
true love façade
Alan Bern
21 | P a g e
boards aholding, Alan Bern
22 | P a g e
A Litany of Love
To the goddesses
who inspire love:
Aphrodite of Sea,
our Cypriot Lady,
weeps on anemone,
her lover no more.
O sea-brightener!
Freyja the giver,
a feline chariot
drives her light.
Aine’s glow warms
midsummer crops,
sun-kisses bless
Limerick lovers.
Shelly Jones
23 | P a g e
Sign Off
Yours
sincerely
Yours
faithfully
Best
wishes
and
Warmest
regards
Cheers
But
now
just
Yours
Birmingham to Bristol
listening
to
Cats
on
the
coach
and
you
doing
crosswords
our
legs
bunched
together
World’s Strongest Man
we’re
watching
World’s
Strongest
Man
2017
and
it’s
the
most
fun
I’ve
ever
had
Kieran Wyatt
24 | P a g e
For S, Reena R.
25 | P a g e
1. Inamorato
Love
I
conjure
you
up
from
a
flame
When
you
arrive
I
become
one
2. Drowning
Smiles
Tears
Love
and
betrayal
Heavier
than
raindrops
Paper
boats
often
drown
carrying
memories
Reena R.
26 | P a g e
3 minisons
Here: my last bite.
Socks the floor.
Push. Cry. Hi, my son.
Katie Manning
27 | P a g e
WINTER ADVISORY
Denver snowfall
covered my drive
showing me where
your car once sat
you are gone home
not my house or my
heart those stay
here in this cold
turning brittle
with the big drop
like an icy patch
just a little bit
slicker than the
road under tires
James R. Tuck
28 | P a g e
BITTER CUP BLUES
coffee black as I
can stand it to be
first thing each
morning I sit and
think of you and I
wake myself from
the night before
where you came to
my dreams the way
you threatened I
let you go no that
aint true or fair
I drank you all up
like a bitter cup
James R. Tuck
29 | P a g e
Summer
Our love is thick,
you said. Air damp
a shirt clinging
to the line of your
collarbones. I am
aware of you, skin,
a standing apart:
fireflies’ green
abdomens laying
out the distance:
pink slides from
each cloud, fade &
flash, simmering
a sultry respite.
Jared Beloff
30 | P a g e
Nicholas Ravnikar
31 | P a g e
Nicholas Ravnikar
32 | P a g e
Home
you behind a door
Rhiannon Grant
33 | P a g e
Single Star
I am a single star.
Your girl - always
a constellation,
outshining fire
I burn. My light is
inadequate heat
to warm your hand.
She ignites your
heart with flame.
I love you better
than you loved me,
but I still blaze,
bring much light
when it gets hard.
Makaila Aarin
34 | P a g e
“Love Letters”
Yellowed papers Sweet inky words Speaking of love Feelings shared Nothing’s unsaid Crystal so clear Seems so ancient This love method Truth is courage Speak your heart Share inner soul Put ink to papers Crisp envelopes Write to forever
V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi
35 | P a g e
O’ my dear beloved
To tell the truth,
Unexplained are
the customs that
society imposes
on souls that are
by the red thread
eternally bound.
Unaccustomed to
the norms of your
society however,
the souls in love
do keep emitting
radiance enough
for whole cosmos
Ankur Jyoti Saikia
36 | P a g e
WE KEEP IT SIMPLE
Like us our words
Simply lay about
Eying & greeting
All interacting
Once I decided to
Pin them to Paper
All of sunrise to
The sunset, fancy
No ink embraced A
He struck a smile
Across the chaos
Eh! All that I ever
Wrote, was his six
Letter holy name
Anisha Kaul
37 | P a g e
Moment in the Sun
Lying in a puddle
of sunlight with
fingers hooked, a
book which is not
being read, piece
of cloud stuck to
your eyelashes, I
have the morning
stuck between my
teeth, your laugh,
the tea gets cold,
we share breaths
and we hold hands –
that’s happiness.
Vera Hadzic
38 | P a g e
VALENTINEGIFTS, Gaiyle Connolly
39 | P a g e
Undelivered Love Letter
2¢ stamp peeling
Happy Valentine
my darling,
lover.
First February
card
bouquet P D A
Keri Withington
40 | P a g e
Minison Snowing
snow will arrive
the children beg
in the wet cities
need warm gloves
& Bernie mittens
they want mostly
to glide like sky
on powdery hills
throw snowballs
roll them bigger
build a fortress
become snow kids
tongue taste brr
stars joy unfold
Covid-19 In Love
you are home w/me
Covid seclusion
we bake and write
walk in our masks
buy takeout food
pray for our kids
wait for vaccine
few risks we take
retired we lucky
in our warm house
the end will come
good or we will be
lonesome lovers
Love Clocks Time
heart winds home
tick tock unlock
ride bike faster
avoid disasters
climb into my bed
prolong our kiss
wild paint frame
my daffodil muse
skin upon my skin
clock slows down
ticking is quiet
pillow & blanket
entwined in time
clock face erase
Mary Ellen Talley
41 | P a g e
Heartbreak
Goodbyes come to
us too easily. The
silences in your
wake, breathless
absence leaving
bleeding hearts
cradled in hands
dripping bitter
tears. Quiet lies
seeded deep grow,
blossom, in times
spent in the dark,
missing you. Come
back. Look. Grieve.
Alison Bainbridge
42 | P a g e
III. paper napkin confession
you are adrift on the current of my daydreams, where poet is unbound. i can hold you like sunlight and you aren’t somewhere i know i cannot be
-sb<3
43 | P a g e
44 | P a g e
I. “tell the wind and fire where to stop, not me.”
madame defarge-a tale of two cities by charles dickens
