INVOCATION
by Gila Mon
[audio:http://www.hootreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Invocation.mp3]

In the words of Cripple Creek,            in the spirit of Hand-Fed Deer,
wash over me in a silent revival          knocking at the face of Ra.
Sing in the mustard seeds,                   my good night. Smile,
Fortuna. Prophesy a drive past           Starlight Pond with eyes shut.
Manifest a barge in Chinese                 lanterns. Surf ethereal on gold trumpet.
Park, baby grand before me.                Skip wine across Fossil Creek Road.
My wind chime in springtime,             rip wings from demons on saxophone.
Flare with fingers possessed.                Mountains, move.
Mahalia Jackson                                     coming through.

 

 

 

FREEZE
by Kate Sheeran Swed
Artwork by Moshe Swed
[audio:http://www.hootreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Freeze-2.mp3]

How did the lake fit in the freezer?
No, no, it used to freeze where it was,
seven inches thick. You could walk on it.
Your mom and I would skate until
her nose got too cold. Skates,
they’re shoes with blades on the bottom.
They cut through the ice so we could glide.

But it was cold outside, like the inside of the freezer, so we
wore scarves and hats – not sun hats, no, but woolen things
to keep our ears warm. I’d pour hot chocolate out of a thermos and
light a fire. We’d huddle close to it, and I’d tell her that smoke follows beauty.

It’s true. I’m not messing with you. No, it’s not like the stories I used to tell
about men who drive trucks to the beach at night to dump salt into the ocean.

 

 

 

LAUNDROMAT
by Jon Hoferle
[audio:http://www.hootreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/laundromat.mp3]

You, in the beauty of small labor, folded your laundry into shiny squares.
You had such exotic laundry: delicate colors, diaphanous fabrics, the promise
of soft summer days.

As the zippers clanged in my dryer, a dark-eyed woman cried, exaggerated
and mute, on the television above.

 

 

—

 

 

Gila Mon (http://dreaminginsatellite.blogspot.com/) teaches high school in semi-rural Arizona. Gila has been writing poetry for many years, drawing inspiration from the crackling of AM talk radio, pop culture, and whatever else he can borrow from the world.

Kate Sheeran Swed has trekked along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and hiked on the Mýrdalsjökull glacier in Iceland. She lives in NYC and is currently pursuing an MFA in fiction. www.katesheeran.com

Jon Hoferle is a writer living in Chicago.  He enjoys bourbon, sunshine, and receiving mail.  To get to know him better, visit mindofjon.net.