by Stephen Mead
Isn’t it curious, wondrous,
this sphere of being
simply?
Laughter (II)
Crinkles,
you give me,
lines unaccountable
as whooping,
as tearful,
as breaths giggling
to wheezes which wind
to lightness, root-tingling,
contagious as kisses,
the good germs,
the best spit
mouths swap.
Figures at a Bus Stop
There’s only two at first,
the ones who show up early,
the ones who’ve lost their schedules.
They stand at opposite ends,
avoiding the bench and each other.
Puddle-suspended, in the glass
their faces meet.
Next different reflections approach:
the senior citizen with her baggage,
the business man with his watch
to be looked at, looked at
every five, ten—–
then the bundled up welfare mom
with her child peering out,
and finally the late-comers, two Punkers examining sky
through the spikes of one another’s green hair.
If god popped up now
who would be surprised?
As though coming up from under mud,
the embraced sun, the birds circling—–
these strangers would take note, reposed, civil
because of wars lived,
of stars transcended, of the found,
the lost homes, the gone,
the going beyond.
Wonderland Revisited
Alice smashes the mirror,
& all puzzle pieces fall,
each shard still containing the image
there before being struck.
These remnants are an index,
the broken parts which create the collage.
Does such a shattering experience
enable Alice to really see?
Alice steps past the looking glass,
her world not quite reversed, just
no longer belonging to one specific
individual since she is gone like a bird
or passing over cloud …
Isn’t it curious, wondrous,
this sphere of being
simply?
After Alice comes back, every
time she reflects
she’ll slip in and through,
being a window then.
Look—these are stars.
© Stephen Mead
Stephen Mead (he/him) is an Outsider multi-media artist and writer. Since the 1990s he’s been grateful to many editors for publishing his work in print zines and eventually online. Recently his work has appeared in CROW NAME, WORDPEACE and DuckuckMongoose. Currently he is resident artist/curator for The Chroma Museum, artistic renderings of LGBTQI historical figures, organizations and allies predominantly before Stonewall.
Share the love and wonder by making sure to respect the copyrights! Everything we publish belongs to the authors. You can share their texts via the official link. If you quote them, please credit them. If you wish to republish their work, you can always write to us and we will put you in direct contact with them. Supporting creativity starts with respecting those who create, so we thank you in advance for doing your part!
The Amazine Community 