seven
Tragedy, Comedy
the favourable celebrations
for the joy of the Soul
threat or a promise.
Human morality
or saintly punishment
the term of hubris
Ugga
Day: February 22, 2026
Liquid Labyrinth
Encouraging
Biztató
My grayness melted into fresh death gleaming,
churches on fire, the city smokes,
my face is still of blood steaming,
and the years have left me in the image stocks.
- Who brought me the worldly corruption twist?
the smell of death penetrated my wrist, –
my days keep the fresh swearing,
like a newborn keeps the stale air in.
Sometimes the summer took advantage of me, winters came at me - its rainbows sat next to my doubts,
you had to listen, there was a seal on my mouth, you see,
this is how my evening tried to find the way out.
I ran away although I was a coward - the landscape is silent, the dead rest in wilt,
they left no mark on morals,
although a wraith writhed in guilt.
You’re closer to blood than a kiss of chastity - a man with a glassy face thought of a rhyme,
- I ask for Samson’s strength for the reality,
because this is how the immune system encouraged mine.
Living a hermit life in the desert keeps me well,
where the coastal cacti hug to survive,
as the handsome heart got a spell,
which the crystal cortex has kept alive.
He Rode Tall
excerpt
He was afraid. He was afraid of hearing “no,” and that
answer rupturing the wonderful relationship and the good thing
that they have going. Yet, he felt that he needed more. More of
Cindy. He couldn’t get this wonderful woman out of his mind.
Anticipating some of the barriers, Joel already knew that getting
Lila to school would be a problem. Living in town, the elementary
school was only a short ten-minute walk from her
home. Out here, the bus ride would take nearly an hour each way
to get to the closest school at Fort Hope. And what about Cindy’s
job at the auction mart? With Great Falls being hours away it just
didn’t make sense for her to travel to work from the ranch. And
what about the loneliness? Sure, there was a few other ranch
families scattered through the hills, but there wasn’t anywhere
near the kind of active social life here that one would have in the
city. He only could think of the barriers, and for that reason, he
decided not to jeopardize the relationship by asking her to join
him on the ranch. But he also was afraid that if he didn’t step
their relationship up to the next level that sooner or later some
city guy would discover the leggy, attractive, and intelligent
blonde. And then who knew what might happen. It was in this
state of confusion that Joel lay there in his bed as Cindy dressed
for the drive home at the end of the day.
Slipping into his jeans once Cindy was ready to leave, he
walked her out to her truck and stood there in his Wranglers,
watching the taillights of her vehicle disappear into the hills
heading back to Great Falls.
The Incidentals
Grease
He has eaten tablespoons of grease
a lifetime under the hood of cars
to change oil, lubricate, maintain
people’s cars, to earn a living,
enough to enjoy his favorite drink
at the neighborhood pub, a small local
bar, small things, small rewards,
the auto mechanic tied to a short rope
his dad once said, “Learn a trade
one day it might come to your help”
and Basil with his rachitic back still
stoops under the hood of old cars
screwing or unscrewing nuts or bolts
sighs or groans constantly heard
where fate has thrown him to live
his simple life patiently and
still recall when he started back
then, a young man optimistic about
his future, only to understand that
for some future meant subsistence
while others sleep in their satin
sheets and stretch their limbs as
if this privilege was only theirs
Manolis Aligizakis 