Exterminating Angel Press

Creative Solutions for Practical Idealists.

memory

Scots pine and sea spray.

by

by Cliff Beck.

We’ve travelled many years to discover that we’re here
where the air carries a bouquet of Scots pine and sea spray
prompting memories of endless days
on mountains, moorland and seashore;
the immensity and intensity of it all
making us feel so ephemeral, so small.

Remember summer days spent under the trees,
spellbound as congeries
of flowers, fungi, mosses, leaves
and gossamer threads
of dew bejeweled spider webs
revealed the intricate intimacy of life.

In the darkest days of winter
countless unique yet anonymous snowflakes
conceal all as they fall,
losing themselves in a blanket
of purity and tranquility
stretching from here to the horizon:
the infinite combined with the infinitesimal;
our bubble of intimacy nestled in invisibility,
nurtured by a web of memories
carried on a bouquet of Scots pine and sea spray

Roots Twisted.

by

by JW James.   like DNA spirals all the stories in my dreams family trips to St. Joseph’s stepping around gopher holes in the cemetery lawn we always got lost it wasn’t like they changed the place around on us what is exhausting in a cemetery? the stillness requires you to travel great distances until […]

“You Always Remembered My Name!”

by

by David D. Horowitz. During the past several decades various polls have exposed Americans’ ignorance about our history, constitution, and government. Do we forget too much or do we ignore too much? Or both? To forget one must first have remembered, but too few people commit to memorizing details unless they are about themselves. It […]

Shaggy Dog.

by

by Bruce E.R. Thompson. What did the Sufi master say to the hotdog vender? Wait. I’m sorry, I seem to have forgotten the punchline to that joke. I must be getting old. Give me a minute. If I think for a bit, perhaps I’ll remember what I was going to say. It was going to […]

Summer 1980.

by

by Sean Murphy. Who am I to speak of the dead or even dare to presume it’s my place to do so? Because I was there, aware —even at ten—this was something nobody would ever forget. An era when news was on the news, and word of mouth, always the best way to convey everything […]

What Binds Us.

by

by Barry Vitcov. These times are not about finding your socks in the vegetable bin or cauliflower in the sock drawer Those are simply lapses of distraction No, these times are about forgetting: doctrines, precedents, understanding, social mores, kindness, do unto others It’s about trying to remember permanence, values, empathy, commonality, and a social contract […]

Cyborg Memories.

by

by Tom Ball. It was the year 2086 A.D that Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease were cured. And eternal youth came soon after. Anyone born in the year 1971 or later, that was still alive, was perked up completely. They cured Alzheimer’s with new genetic therapy, which altered some of one’s genes. However, all people […]

All at Sea.

by

by Cliff Beck. Sailing eastwards under a clear sky towards yet another day that once seemed so far away we follow the stars we have always known to steer by. I stand motionless at the prow between the bow wave which, like the treasure trove of memories saved from my journey to now, grows ever […]

On the Cusp of 77.

by

by David Bolton. Take a gander at what came and what’s to come In the meantime, seek the amber of the setting sun After a day at the screen. my strained eyes hunger for beauty Along the way to no destination, I say hello to strangers, commenting on the perfect weather, the absence of crushing […]

A Crook in the Rain.

by

by Marissa Bell Toffoli. There is too much forgetting. I hold my breath as if it will hold everything– press pause for us. An alarm chimes, the laundry is done. A car beeps in the distance, traffic moves on. I chide myself, don’t let the day’s distractions lead. Through the kitchen window, I pocket another […]