Art by Peter Bethanis
Head Growth
My head popped off as I brushed my teeth. “You brush too hard. I’m rolling away to find a
gentler owner,” my head barked up from my bathroom floor.
After I walked into three street poles, I stumbled bloody into work where Abagail in accounting
planted a head seed in the soil of my neck. By lunch, I sprouted a chin. At dusk, I gained new
eyes to guide my body
through neighborhood growth. In the shadow of a lemon tree, I plucked a yellow globe and
peeled back the skin to reveal stinging delight that stained my face.
Back before my bathroom mirror, female features reflected back, features I washed as I called
Abagail’s cell. Through her chopped onion tears, I heard the smile in her voice when she asked,
“Are you happy? I want you to be happy.” “Am I a man or a woman?” “You’re a human
flourishing anew.”
Plague Remedy
When the Black Plague roars her mean head over San Francisco concrete like a fiery dragon,
chop off your leg and your dog’s leg. The Plague Dragon has already come down hard on your
canine friend’s limb. If you’re lucky, the Plague hasn’t spread beyond into the bed frame or the
ham in the refrigerator. To control the bleeding, tap your Clipper Card on the wound and the
wound will know the twenty-first century smirks back.
About the author:
Keith Mark Gaboury earned a M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. His poems have appeared in such publications as Poetry Quarterly and New Millennium Writings along with chapbooks from Duck Lake Books and The Pedestrian Press. Keith lives in Oakland, California.
Find out more at: keithgaboury.com
In the artist’s words:
Peter Bethanis grew up in rural Maine. He is both a writer and an artist. Peter’s writing has appeared in Poetry, America, and the Wallace Stevens Journal as well as more than 60 other literary journals. His work has been recognized by former U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall as well as James Dickey, author of Deliverance. Most recently, his writing has appeared in the Indianapolis Review, A3 Review, and Book XI, a philosophy journal of Hamilton College. He has been a finalist for the National Poetry Series and is a past winner of the Eve of St. Agnes Poetry Competition, sponsored by Negative Capability. He is the author of two books, Dada and Surrealism for Beginners, and American Future. Peter’s artwork has appeared in several galleries and in literary magazines such as Adirondack Review, Indianapolis Review, and HCE, literary magazine of University College Dublin.
You can see his work here: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/peter-bethanis?tab=artwork
Peter currently lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S..