November 2022
In this issue
Contents
Four Poems by Alison Morse
Alison Morse weaves a heartbreaking narrative of garment factory workers’ life through the scope of Human sufferings, paved with lack of accountability by owners and substandard working conditions.
Somewhere by my grandparents house; strawberries from the heart
Better still, there are Oranges in Europe and Grapes in South Melbourne and A man from the Northern suburbs with a belt that Wears studs and a tattoo I know better than to Question, who Offers me a coffee with half a spoon of sugar.
I Had a Hard Time Identifying Myself Drowned
I thought I was Orpheus’s head floating down the Hebrus still singing, but I was not singing—
To Be Dirty
A teacher once asked if I lived on the dirty side of the Philippines, I had to think what she meant—if she meant a part easier to ignore homeless kids on the streetsides with cardboard blankets curled up like street dogs; if dirty meant poor meant eating rice with soy sauce ‘cause mama couldn’t afford meat;
Listening to Louis Armstrong
Flowers I can’t name stretch over the lip of a windowsill to stare into the swooning sun. I will not sing, but I am tempted.
A Pocket full of Posies
the spider climbs the spout the wheels on the bus go round Jack gets the magic beans and I say ding dong we are all scrambling out of the frying pan where dozens of eggs were broken to make incredible inedible omelets
March
What I recall from night is tangled in the uneasy rising of a new day. No need to fiddle in my sleep
Westinghouse
I have been pigging out on Oreos lately. They aren’t good for me. My doctor warns me that my nocturnal habits are wrong. Too many snacks. Too little sleep. I quote that boy-devil, Bart Simpson, and tell him not to have a kitten.
Two Stories
I was an only child. Have no merry assumptions. I was not an only child by design. Can a girl ever be an only child by choice? It was the era of death and disease. None of amma’s children survived to become my brothers and sisters.
Dogs Chasing Cars
Another car goes by; this time, the puppies move together toward the shiny wheel and break off in sync like a flock of geese. The leader sends out signals, and they move in unison. Finally, they stop and stare at me. I would take one back home with me if I could. They were that cute.