By Brian Yapko
the color of death may well be periwinkle purple but when the moment of shimmer arrives to leave this place of loud noises and too-straight lines, i want more. i want ethereal vermilion, ochre, chartreuse, turquoise & rust. when this shell of mottled flesh peels off of me, as i rise, i want my eyes wide open with awe, a giggle & a gasp at the answers. I won’t mind the clouds or rain, for the puffs of gray & white will will tickle like marshmallows, & the dazzle of drizzle will sweeten my ascent like honey dripping from the sky, sugar sweet on lips that no longer curse, silky soft on skin that no longer bleeds & tender on muscles that will never ache again. let the air sparkle clean, redolent of ocean breezes, babies’ breath & orange blossoms. as i soar let me wink at butterflies, balloons & birds, let me linger in the tip-tops of trees laden with crisp apples & sweet peaches ripe for plucking & mashing to nourish the vital world i leave behind. let there be sun, a hint of moonlight, waltzing in their coruscations, & let there be the overture hint of cerulean & pink streaks boding a magnificent sunrise. let there be hugs, music, the scent of biscuits; let there be light which warms, winks, guides & reveals at last all the captivating colors.
Brian Yapko is a lawyer whose poems have appeared in multiple publications, including New York Quarterly, Gyroscope, Apricity, Tofu Ink, Society of Classical Poets, Hive Avenue, Abstract Elephant and others. His debut science fiction novel, El Nuevo Mundo, was recently published by Rebel Satori Press. His gothic archaeology novel The Bleeding Stone will be published by Rebel Satori in Autumn, 2023. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Janis Butler Holm served as Associate Editor for Wide Angle, the film journal, and currently works as a writer and editor in sunny Los Angeles. Her prose, poems, art, and performance pieces have appeared in small-press, national, and international magazines. Her plays have been produced in the U.S., Canada, Russia, and the U.K.