--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSN 1063-8377 __ _______________ // ) | S T A N Z A | // \/ |_______________| // \/ The Free Online Poetry Magazine // \/ // \/ // \/ - A Forum for Poets of All Kinds to // \/ Share Their Work - // \/ _________________ //__/ - STANZA is free to anyone who wishes ()_\ \ ///\ to download it - | a RAM Online | __//__ | Publications | | | | online | | | _| periodical | /_______\ ()|______________| \|_______________) September 1992 - Volume 2, Issue 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cover art extracted from Writer's Ink RT on GEnie - done by SHADOWRITER, used with permission [_________________________________________________________________________] | | | Table of Contents | |___________________________________________________________________________| | | | Title Author/Poet Search Code | |{-------------------------------------------------------------------------}| | This Month in "Stanza" (with apology)......... Ryan MacMichael......... A | | How to Use the Search Codes............................................ B | | | | Yearbook...................................... Todd Brendan Fahey...... 1 | | Dementia............................................................... 2 | | Mean Whispers.......................................................... 3 | | | | In the Midst of Desert........................ Jason Colflesh.......... 4 | | Literary Critic........................................................ 5 | | | | The Starting.................................. Wiley Pencil............ 6 | | of Joyce and Things.................................................... 7 | | this eulogy:........................................................... 8 | | Transmission........................................................... 9 | | | | Living Wills.................................. John Nichols............10 | | Reds roar..............................................................11 | | | | Back Issue List........................................................ C | | Supporting BBSes....................................................... D | | The Final Verse........................................................ E | |{-------------------------------------------------------------------------}| |___________________________________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________________ | o All information Copyright 1992 RAM Online Publications. | | o All poems Copyright 1992 by their respective authors. | | o No part of STANZA may be reproduced, in part or in whole without | | permission from RAM Online Publications and its authors. | | o This magazine may be freely distributed in TXT or any compression | | format as long as no part of the magazine is changed and there is no | | fee involved other than standard connect/phone charges. | | | | STANZA, the Free Online Poetry Magazine -- ISSN 1063-8377 | |___________________________________________________________________________| [A] This Month in STANZA Ryan MacMichael Before anything, I'd like to offer my apologies to a poet that was featured in STANZA last month who's name I entered incorrectly in the magazine. He was listed as "Todd Fehey" when it should have been "Todd Brendan Fahey." I apologize greatly and hope this hasn't caused any major inconviences. He returns this month with more terrific poetry. This month we also feature several other talented poets. Jason Colflesh debuted in last month's issue of STANZA and returns with two more poems this month. Wiley Pencil makes his STANZA premiere this month with four oddly entertaining poems. John Nichols also joins us. The way things are looking, there may very well be a BEST OF STANZA 1992 come late-December featuring the 10 best poems from August '92 up until December '92. This should be a nice addition to your STANZA collection. Virtual-leather binding and everything. :) I'd like to add book reviews to STANZA at this point. Book reviews of poetry collections or anything else you feel would fit well into the magazine. Reviewers can send a complete mss or query. Reviewer copies of books can be addressed to the one listed in "The Final Verse." In other RAMOP news, we are beginning to compile the first electronic/online fiction anthology. It plans to be very entertaining. While it is going to be primarily fiction, I am looking for dabbles of poetry to toss in here and there for some spice. So, if you have a poem that tells a story, send it over to us and we'll consider it. Terms are the same as for STANZA and the address is the same except address it to "RAMOP Fiction Anthology" as opposed to "Stanza Magazine." This should be out in winter or spring of '93. Sorry this issue came out late -- things got busy, so getting the magazine together was a bit difficult. I'm always happy to hear your comments on STANZA, so drop me a line. Until next month, enjoy the issue. [ END - A ] [----------] [B] How to Use the Search Codes Ryan MacMichael The search codes listed in the Table of Contents are very easy to use. Simply load STANZA into your text editor, or viewer, or whatever. Then find the search code you wish to search for in STANZA, then do your FIND command and type: [x] where x is the search code. Simple! In the future, we may be lucky enough to have a specific viewer for STANZA. If you think this would be a valuable asset or would like to take on the task of writing one, let me know. [ END - B ] [----------] [1] Yearbook Todd Brendan Fahey When I was young, I liked to look through my father's yearbooks-- Into the other end of the lens-- To receive the inheritance I had missed at birth; I was a recessive gene When the Beatles played Ed Sullivan And he threw his third one-hitter, Then drove his catcher to Canada After the celebration; I kept him out of Viet Nam, Still squirming in the belly, And out of the bush-leagues, Confined to an armchair And paralyzed By the sound of Ryan's fastball Over the suckling of a pacifier. [ END - 1 ] [----------] [2] Dementia Todd Brendan Fahey Lie, the bitter nectar, lie, And fool me so, time passes by; Not long ago, I dreamt in large, familiar terms, Where spans were small and through it all I could not see in front of me. [ END - 2 ] [----------] [3] Mean Whispers Todd Brendan Fahey She wasn't supposed to be listening, Or even nearby-- We were talking in the office As bored teachers will, Gossiping, When I felt that we might not be alone. I went next door and knocked quietly And found her laying on the floor In more or less a fetal crouch, A blanket propped beneath her head; For the rest of the day, She was aloof, Absent from the joys of Spring-- Maybe carrying around that same knot We all felt deep inside, Hating her own laziness, Our cowardice, That part of every man Who degrades what is convenient. [ END - 3 ] [----------] [4] In the Midst of Desert... Jason Colflesh Time speeds by, elusive. Men living, men dying. Sounds crash, chaos roars. Necros spreads his chilling hands. Suddenly, time slows, stops. Two men rise from the destruction. Locked by powers greater than their own, Slowly they move toward each other. War, Famine, Pestilence, Death. All are behind them now. Steely gaze, cold sweat, Dripping from their brows. Closer still, they match their gazes, One another is all they see. Even closer now, and with knives drawn, Their right hands they reach out to clasp. A dove flies silently overhead. In the midst of a desert, a flower grows. [ END - 4 ] [----------] [5] Literary Critic Jason Colflesh Thumbing through a dogeared book, I come to the page I had sought. The secret, hidden part Of all emotions that had been fought. I scan the words most eagerly, Then close the book with a thud. Walking out of the house with it, I let it fall from my hand to the mud. Too late, the page is ruined. Too late, it cannot be repaired. For how can I mend something Of which you have already despaired? So back to the house I go, And put my nose in a dogeared book. I lose myself in its pages, And forget the love I forsook. [ END - 5 ] [----------] [6] The Starting Wiley Pencil This time we came close. Closer- in fact- than the 17 other times. I can say this with certainty; I checked in my journal. (The green one, if you're curious.) "March 7, drunk at her house. Talked about money & kissing. She played something I'd never heard- have to find that record." "May 23, Floating in the pool. She'd lost her way, she said, and asked what my sign was. I asked her what she wanted it to be. She smiled, but then said that wasn't funny. Not at all. Some things are serious. Don't you take anything seriously?" "September something. The convertible. We lay on the warm hood -too hot!- and tracked the stars. I made up constallations- named one after her. She traced the outline with her finger- Those? Yes. Those too? Yes. And which one is you?" You get the picture. Once I worked it out on my computer. I assigned each of us an integer and extrapolated us across time and space. Curiously, at some small town on the Rhine (St. Goar, if you're keeping track) we will be checked into the same hotel on the same night. You will be married (a tall man named Kevin) and have three children. I will be with someone I hardly know (her name will be Kelly- she will have great legs). I will see one of your children (Amanda, the younger of the two girls) in the hall. She drops her toothbrush. I fall to my knees and hand it to her. "Be sure to wash this before you use it." She has your eyes, but I won't realize it for years. Then I'll remember you. [ END - 6 ] [----------] [7] of Joyce and Things Wiley Pencil Fifteen and filled with dada and Warhol, fifteen and driving fifteen inch nails into my chest with innocent talk of heavy petting, "I just wanted to see what it was like, it wasn't that great. How old were you when you had sex?" Easy as that. My breath is hard, I look down on you. You look up with wide eyes that have yet to feel a hateful stare. At fifteen, had I even heard of Joyce? You take my hand. "Are you the boy that can enjoy invisibility?" I am the boy. Fifteen and filled with admiration for my clumsy prose. rite something for me, no one's ever written something for me before." Well, listen up: I've got a bone fifteen inches long waiting for you. I've got a present, wrapped in words, that shames me. [ END - 7 ] [----------] [8] this eulogy: Wiley Pencil this eulogy: is a kiss on dead lips, bile in my mouth, strychnine in my blood. others will sob and I will not. they pulled me to your grave and held me over it. "here it is, she's dead, you see, she's dead." so I crawled through the dirt, swallowed it in gasps washed it down with memories threw up passed out woke in your arms suckled at your breast and begged "tell me it's a lie, tell me nothing's lost, not your words, your lonliness, your hand in mine. tell me it's a lie." can I wake you, speeding through time? there's something left to say: it was meant for me. [ END - 8 ] [----------] [9] Transmission Wiley Pencil Colin is dead. And Mark- dead. I'm sure there are others; I've stopped answering the phone. And I've moved, twice, with no forwarding address. And I've bleached my hair, I wear a false nose, walk backwards, mutter in strange tongues. Last week I poked my eyes out, chopped off my left hand. Even changed my name (to "Wiley," no less) but it didn't seem to help. [ END - 9 ] [----------] [10] Living Will John Nichols I know death face to face. I have been to his door. His `64 Ford slammed me against his doorstep, where he waited to give pain as a key to his dwelling. Too young to understand keys, I remain here, my twisted body mocked by unaware children. Death with dignity zealots say it's better just to die. I say Dylan was right about the night. [ END - 10 ] [----------] [11] Reds roar John Nichols race blues shimmer blues burst shimmer quiver in the air people oohh awww unaware of the incandescent heart explosions fired by your full roundness pressed against my lap. [ END - 11 ] [----------] [C] Back Issue List These are the back issues of STANZA. They are obtainable from the Writer's Ink RT Library on GEnie (M440;3). Included are the plain ASCII text versions as well as the ZIPped versions. Below the chart is a brief overview of each issue. MONTH VOL ISS .TXT .ZIP -------------------------------------- Nov '91 1 1 2437 2578 Dec '91 1 2 2535 2579 Jan '92 1 3 2577 ---- Aug '92 2 1 3457 3500 Nov '91... PREMIERE ISSUE... Poet of the Month: Elizabeth Millican... featured poets: Charles Daley, Edward Michalski, Robert Gratix, D. Scott Anderson, and Linda C. Shelton. Dec '91... Poet of the Month: Charles Daley... featured poets: Apurva Dave, Ryan MacMichael, Wild Rose, Kirk Haines, and Mike McVeigh. Jan '92... LAST ISSUE BEFORE REINCARNATION... Poet of the Month: Christopher G. Saypack... featured poets: Michael McVeigh, Ryan MacMichael, John Travailian, Apurva Dave, and Wild Rose. Aug '92... REINCARNATION ISSUE... Jason Colflesh, Kelly Ford, Todd Brendan Fahey, Elizabeth Millican, and Ryan MacMichael. [ END - C ] [----------] [D] Supporting BBSes This is a new section in STANZA where I have allowed up to 10-lines for BBSes to advertise in STANZA. This space is ONLY available when offered by myself. It is to let the readers know of the systems that have helped support STANZA so much. Mainly they are very large systems who have helped in national distribution, etc. If you are looking for a good BBS to call, chances are you'll find one listed here. If your BBS is not listed and you feel it should be, please contact me and we'll talk. ___ AD #1: ExecNet, the Executive Network Information System ___ THE EXECUTIVE NETWORK INFORMATION SYSTEM! Come see the NEW face of BBSing! We run a revolutionary "virtual clock" system which lets you use your time WHEN you want to and HOW you want to. Eight hours of connect time and 32 MB of download ability each call! Don't be fooled by ads claiming no download limits, they restrict your access time instead! At ExecNet, YOU decide how YOU want to use your account! Come and see for yourself! If your needs require the best and then some, call our registration node at (914) 667-4567. [ END - D ] [----------] [E] The Final Verse Questions and submissions should be sent to editor Ryan MacMichael at: GEnie : R.MACMICHAEL InterNet : ryan.macmichael@execnet.com Prodigy : XVJJ45F VirtualNet : 52@6291 US Mail : Ryan MacMichael Stanza Magazine 22 Lightning Dr Medford NJ 08055-9752 o All submissions can be made via e-mail on any BBS that I am on, on the network addresses listed above, or the above US Mail address. With US Mail questions and submissions, include a SASE for a response. o STANZA is published monthly by RAM Online Publications with a temporary release date on each issue of the third Monday of each month. o If you are on GEnie, you may visit our home on the Writer's Ink RT (M440;1) at Category 46, Topic 8. This is a GEnie*Basic service that is part of your $4.95/month subscription fee. [ END - E ] [----------] [ :END - Stanza, 09/92, Vol. 2 Issue #2: ]