"Pseudo-him," "Morse, Encoded," and "Flot, Jetsam"

Pseudo-him

Scribe. With a name known only to himself. Waits to pen letters to friends in Tunisia
                                                                                     Algiers, Morocco, or
Amsterdam. Writing to family, we scribble thumbnail sketches of ourselves, or who
                                                                                     we remember startled us
this morning in the mirror. Hindsight is 20/20, and rear views are reserved for blurs.

 


 

Morse, Uncoded

Usual's the linchpin. Wax rolled ball in between the fingers. Monogamy of a print. If there were
                                                                                    ever anyway out, it's in the eye
of the storm. Expanse of swollenness, swelling. Day is decorated different, less ribbons and flags
                                                                                    than expected. The profound
takes it on the knees. Sound of civilized violence, cymbals, champagne bottles, blind man's cane.

 


 

Flot, Jetsam

Forever and the time it took to return. Walking a plank, weather underneath is the same. Smells of salt,
                                                                                                 mermaid foam. Call it
a day with teaspoons of regret and honey. As detritus is detrimental to one's health, hillocks
                                                                                                 fade into sea. Placidity
twirls its thumbs. Flowers begin to flower, not knowing the month. Sundays, all in a row. To
                                                                                                 speak is to beach comb
words.

 

 

Philip Kobylarz

Philip Kobylarz is a teacher and writer of fiction, poetry, book reviews, and essays. He has worked as a journalist and film critic for newspapers in Memphis, Tennessee. His work appears in such publications as Paris Review, Poetry, and The Best American Poetry series. He is the author of a book of poems concerning life in the south of France and a short story collection titled Now Leaving Nowheresville. His creative non-fiction collection All Roads Lead from Massilia is forthcoming from Everytime Press of Adelaide, Australia and he has a collection forthcoming from Brooklyn's Lit Riot Press titled A Miscellany of Diverse Things.

 

Edited for Unlikely by Jonathan Penton, Editor-in-Chief
Last revised on Monday, January 16, 2017 - 21:20