Ow, She Said. And Wow.

She stared

at the solitary gull

perched on a craggy rock.

The sea, like undulating slates

of purplish steel,

or bruised rust,

while a glaring wound

of a sunset poured scarlet ribbons

from its Martian gash.

The gull flies away, a dilating comma

with unknown plans.

Sometimes

it was nearly impossible to bear,

all this beauty and sadness,

the feathery crux of registered crushes,

excruciate in their due course

of perishing, and remembrance.

About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, writer, poet, performer, and playwright, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of four novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, and No Man’s Brooklyn; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His produced, full-length plays include: LOBSTERS ON ICE, ADAGIO FOR STRAYS, THE BEST MEDICINE, ZEITGEIST, U.S.A., and WEREWOLVES DON’T WALTZ.

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