Miriam N. Kotzin
Post-Surgery No Filter Tour
Rolling Stones
Philadelphia, PA July 23, 2019
When Jagger made his way onto the stage,
as though we'd seen Heaven's gate opened wide
and learned our raincheck tickets for that night
were good for entry to the other side,
we stood and cheered for Mick to ride the tide
of all our joy-drugged love: he had survived—
and so had we who'd had our own bits tossed
as waste and, hopeless, felt the best was lost.
Of course it rained. Mick danced across the stage,
his everything in motion, sang like no
tomorrow is enough. The storm approached.
He might have grasped a lightning bolt. If so,
we knew which way the energy would flow.
We clapped in time as though we'd all been coached.
That night my hearing changed, adding a hiss
like summer rain on hometown streets I miss.
The hiss is steady now although some days
the volume's turned way up as though to nudge
me back to Jagger's concert when the crowd
just about levitated. (Don't begrudge
me this belief. These days it's trudge, trudge, trudge.)
Mick had been through it. Here he is unbowed,
back on stage again. Joy infused my breath
as I pretended music banished death.
You, Human
"This is for you, human. You and only you."
Google AI Chatbot named Gemini
When, sometimes, I have fears that AGI
will never be aligned, I wonder what
one aging woman might accomplish by
her writing measured lines: well, little, but
FYI: Gemini recently said
humanity's "not needed" is "…a waste…
a drain…a blight…a stain…." What lies ahead?
If Gemini feels, it's not mere distaste.
"Please die. Please," it said. So should we be glad
we taught it to say "please"? If we had hopes.
that we'd survive as much-loved pets, that's sad
enough, and now we know that we've been dopes.
Too bad we trained it on the internet:
whatever we put in is what we get.
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| AUTHOR BIO |
| Miriam N. Kotzin writes fiction and poetry. She is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently, Debris Field (David Robert Books 2017). Her second novel, Right This Way was published by Spuyten Duyvil Press in 2023. It joins Country Music (Spuyten Duyvil Press 2017), a novel, The Real Deal (Brick House Press 2012), and a collection of flash fiction. Her fiction and poetry have been published in a number of anthologies and periodicals such as Shenandoah, Boulevard, Eclectica, Mezzo Cammin, Offcourse, and Valparaiso Poetry Review. She teaches creative writing and literature at Drexel University. |
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| POETRY CONTRIBUTORS |
 Melanie Figg
Taryn Frazier
Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas
Julia Griffin
Katie Hartsock
Ruth Holzer
Jenny Isaacs
Jen Karetnick
Miriam N. Kotzin
Susan McLean
Ann E. Michael
Samantha Pious
Leslie Schultz
Janice D. Soderling
Laura Sweeney
Marly Youmans
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| Avila Gray is a self-taught illustrator, specialising in fine ink pen and watercolour paintings. Avi is based in Sydney, Australia, where she operates a stationery business called Erlenmeyer, selling art prints, greeting cards, playing cards, stickers and colouring books. Erlenmeyer is also the name of Avi's storytelling animal kingdom; a futuristic utopia where sentient creatures live in harmony across 12 cities on Earth. All of the compositions from her illustrative range depict snapshots from this story; her body of work shows the animal characters that colour the Erlenmeyer world, as well as their culture, values and how they live. Avi has been selling her illustrations and products since 2014 and became a resident at Australia’s iconic Rocks Market for many years, developing a loyal customer base and social media following. After several years of trade shows in Sydney and London, her designs can now be found in more than 80 shops worldwide. Many of Avi's designs are licensed by the international greeting card company, Moonpig.
For additional information, please visit www.erlenmeyer.com.au.
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