by Tony Schanuel
Analects
Blue and you and do and true
rhyme: this is the first rule.
Second
is sacrifice: manifesting virtue
though economical contorting:
hoisting oneself atop a rose and dropping
a rope.
Confucius
assures us
that virtue made
manifest is
visible to
others.
And thus
(he asserts)
are others transformed.
If one writes a poem to another
faithful and sincere
and it does not sell
them on them:
then they will have lost
nothing at all.
This is the final rule.
A Dendrite Considers Its End
I am a synapse
conflagration, competing
flames; I am
a jumped
firebreak
and a consumed once-
abundance of air.
I was once a tree.
I am self-
immolation.
I am a yielding pinecone.
I am a body
without weight,
signaling at once my exhaustion
and my wish to be
exhausted.
You are water,
my body pressing back,
saying: “No,
no, just a little bit farther
on, come on,
it’s just ahead.”
Colin Lubner writes (in English) and teaches (math) in southern New Jersey. His work has either appeared or will appear, temporally speaking. Recent pieces can be found through his Twitter: @no1canimagine0. He is keeping on keeping on.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology,and painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection.