The Qliphoth

Excerpt

“I’m not sure who’s fucked who,” says Larry sleepily, cupping her bottom with
firm hands. “And I’m losing track of the exact number of times. But it’s been
fair exchange. Above and below.”
Pauline is astride him now, first stretching back, then leaning forward, letting
his eyes linger on her breasts, let him kiss and lick and tease her hard nipples
as they brush his face.
She reaches down, right down there,to sheathe his prick, his penis, his cock,
his rod, his willy, all such silly names, yet an exciting catalogue to recite under
her breath when he’s already so hard again, a natural material phenomenon
like a stone or a tree or a jolt of lightning right up the rippling crevice of her;
but she’s in control now, poised for take-off, almost at the point of no return,
as long as the ride’s easy, gently does it, the triangle of her sex is perfectly balanced
on him, so he disappears in his dark murmurs and while she’s astride this
cunning old Adam, she’ll give him his golden apples all right, just a
quick/slow/quick/slow squeeze around and about the hairy zone, he just can’t
stop going into her, but they keep going . . .
She can see his tanned chest below her, his scarred arms, tiny curved crescents
like cigarette burns on the shoulder. His belly is noticeably curved also,
thickened by the prison stodge, but what the hell, he is a great stone giant lying
on his back, heavy weathered curved lips, pitted slabs of cheek, a hell of a heavy
stand on him, standing steady for centuries, for her steady pleasuring, her
repeated steady roll. She will never relent. She is sitting on top of the world. In
control. She is at the apex of earthly power. She is reclaiming this male organ,
(all hers, hot and engorged), she has just discovered it and this time she won’t
let go without a delicious fight.
He’s going to, going to—he’s moaning, bucking wildly, stroking the cheeks
of her arse together. She lets everything go.
Much later, as she swallows his harsh black coffee, and listens to distant domestic
bellowings in the bedsits upstairs, she isn’t sure about anything, despite
the languour in her aching body.
Already there are anxieties—were they too perfunctory with the condoms?
and a replay of Graham’s counsel keeps surfacing, however much she tries to
force it down—suppose those marks on his arms were tracks from injecting,
inside men, shared needles, all that nightmare stuff . .

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562839

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186508

Water in the Wilderness

Excerpt

“You shouldn’t have bothered, Moe. I could get a bite at the hospital, you know.”
“It’s no bother. And you need something home cooked after that hospital food you’ve been surviving on. The meals aren’t any better than they were when we were students.”
It was only after Tyne had eaten that Moe, sitting at the table with her, said lightly, “Aunt Millie called a little while ago. No, it’s all right. And I didn’t tell you earlier because I knew you’d go rushing off without breakfast if I did.”
Tyne sat forward, her heart in her throat, ready to bolt from her chair. “What is it? Why did Auntie call?”
Moe smiled. “Morley is awake and asking for you.”
Tyne let her breath out on a deep sigh, sat back and covered her face with her hands. “Thank you, God, thank you,” she whispered, then shot out of her chair and ran to get her coat. Moe was right behind her, car keys in hand.
Rachael didn’t think she would like riding in a bus. Not a bus this big, anyway. As the huge vehicle, with the long skinny greyhound painted on its side, drew to a stop in the bay behind the Emblem bus depot, she shuddered and moved closer to Mrs. Milligan. A man in a sort of uniform was standing beside the open door, taking tickets from people, punching holes in them, then handing them back. When it came their turn in line, he did the same with the tickets Mrs. Milligan handed him.
The man looked down at Rachael. “Hello there, little lady. Where are you going today?”
Rachael thought he must already know that, but he was trying to be nice to her so she said quietly, “We’re going to Calgary.”
“It’s her first bus ride,” Mrs. Milligan informed him.
“Is it? Well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Be sure to sit beside a window so you can see everything. And look for the herd of deer on the right hand side; they’re usually grazing in the field there.” He held out his hand to the person behind them as Mrs. Milligan guided Rachael up the steps, and led the way along the aisle to seats half way back.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562884

https://www.amazon.com/dp/192676319X

Ugga

twenty-four
For the light to change
we must feel
the loss of darkness
in transactions

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Triptych

Chapel
In the small chapel
in front of our saint’s
icon, we’ll share a candle
reflection of your tear
vanishing as my finger
touches yours and others
stare at us, smiling to
comprehend that an
icon is after all the image of
a new god appearing
a new heaven arrived at
and I came back to
laugh with you for our
next interlude when
we meet again

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HDNLNKXV

The Circle

Excerpt

HAKIM IS UP VERY EARLY this Wednesday morning, and following his half
hour of meditation, sits at his workstation to communicate with his uncle. It’s
about seven in the evening in Baghdad, and someone must be at home; he hasn’t
heard from them in the last couple of days and is concerned. They must have
some news by now; the tests were to be done a few days ago.
“Hello there, my uncle, how are you?”
“Hello Hakim.” Rassan answers.
“Hi, Rassan; where is everybody?”
“Mara is at the hospital with Ibrahim; she stays overnight to keep him
company. They had tests done yesterday and today; it doesn’t look good.”
“Tell me, what were the test results?”
“They did a couple of scans and detected two small tumors—a tiny one in his
liver and a bigger one in his pancreas. They are to do biopsies tomorrow and then
we’ll have answers.”
“How is he? Is he in pain?”
“Well, in the hospital he is not in pain as they have him on painkillers; I don’t
know how he will feel when he gets home, if they allow him to come home.”
“Is he that bad that you think he may not come home soon?”
“I don’t know Hakim, I’m not the doctor. We’ll see; what I know is when he
was here the last few days he was in pain constantly.”
“Thanks Rassan, I’ll reach you again tomorrow about the same time. Make
sure you are around to give me an update of how things are. If need be, I may
come over for a few days to keep Mara company.”
“She’s going to be very happy to see you, I’m sure.”
“Say hello to both of them, and pass on a message to my uncle from his friend
Bevan, who sends his regards.”
He turns the computer off and puts on a robe; Jennifer is still asleep in the
bedroom.He walks to the balcony and looks at the weather in Los Angeles; clouds
cover the sky, in the same way that they cover his heart with this latest news. The
temperature is around 15 degrees; a pleasant temperature for the time of the year.
He has to go to the office and check on things; the business has been going a bit
better the last couple of weeks and Peter Bradshaw is very excited about a new…

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562817

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186524

Twelve Narratives of the Gypsy

…And I, amid
the rage and rattle of people,
unaccustomed to a father
and unfamiliar with
a mother, free of all caresses,
stood like a fresh branch of
a not pruned, ageless,
fruitless, deep shaded tree;
barefoot riding a black
stubborn mule, alone tried to
discover who I was (no other
could had ever guessed it) who
covered my essence with a
cloth knitted by the morning dew
and by the hands of rosy dawn…

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Entropy

The Thread of Depth

…I’m still here
on the path that turns before it vanishes
for good into the legend
with you reading these verses
about the utopia we call life built on pain
the fake knowledge of history
where each word tries
to come out of the speechless
generations sail out to the ocean
without choosing the time
they wander from craft to craft
been in the dream
up to the end of the dark lust
a world that distances itself
time before and after time
where you belong, they never say goodbye
the stars learn to survive
but not to love
don’t expect replicas
the thread of the depth transcends you
seed of a seeder that sprouts
into mortal eternities
preplanning silence and distance

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPCRLJC6

Rendition

…all corners of the plain
torching your territory
innocent blood of the first
seethes for revenge as
you lie here in the dark
unnamed lane facing
sky from where your first moon
arched over
trash bin in its solitude
shadows your good fortune
with stale piss
and sick fumes
diners laugh at irony on
menu-board bison steak
with wild berry reduction
Arch of canoe
emerges in center of your pupil
while disembodied echo

https://www.amazon.com/dp/098107359X

Yannis Ritsos – Poems, Volume I

ROMIOSINI

They sat under the olive trees in early afternoon
sieving the gray light with their big
fingers
they took off their cartridge belts and measured the
anguish fitting the path of night
how much bitterness fits in the wild mallow’s knot
how much courage in the eyes of a shoeless child
holding up the flag
Past its time the last swallow remained in
the plains
weighed himself in midair like a black band
on the sleeve of autumn
Nothing else remained Only the burnt up
houses smoldering

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562834

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763076

Straits and Turns

Excerpt

…because one switch was turned against the direction of the engines
and Mike hadn’t seen it. He felt as if that splashing of the stone in the
little pool sounded as if someone had slapped him on the face, and he
accepted it with forbearance and patience, like another lesson in the
work he was doing for the big train company. Mike suddenly felt the
need to hide somewhere so others couldn’t see him as he was leaving
with a lowered head as if he had been defeated in the afternoon battle
of survival.
Time flew, and eventually Mike went home, where he narrated
the event to his wife and son, who started laughing at the imaginary
sight of a train engine on the ground. Mike felt a little lighter, and he
too started laughing without knowing why.

https://draft2digital.com/book/4250839#print

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763866