Exterminating Angel Press

Creative Solutions for Practical Idealists.

poem

A Crook in the Rain.

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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 glance of you.
I collect memories
like a squirrel after acorns.

Maroon leaves, still wet,
make the path slippery
under the maple tree.
But there is no palace more grand
than the crook of that tree
for your limbs to perch,
stealing time and watching
the world from on high.
One breath at a time.

My heart blooms for you
over and over again.
Pay attention.
This landscape is ours to tend.
Wind rustles the branches,
a whisper of rain.
Exhale.

What Binds Us.

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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 […]

Forgetting.

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by Caitlin O’Halloran. I once lost my hairbrush and spent an entire evening looking for it. My mother always said I’d never get anywhere in life if I couldn’t keep track of my things. “You’re just like your father,” she’d tell me. My father could never remember anyone’s name. On the rare occasions when we […]

What I Left Behind.

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by Lana Hechtman Ayers. What I left behind was the night sea, sand cool as glass on my bare feet, the sweet smell of cedar trees ashore, a short stroll to the place I called home, the last room where you still loved me.  

Strangers in strange lands.

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by Cliff Beck. Feeling the pain of injustice and loss tears run hot in the tracks etched into your face as you trudge through a desolate space hunched against a world that doesn’t care and ignores the despair which cuts to the bone trapping you in congealed emotion; disconnected, bereft and alone. You feel their […]

The Airplane.

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by Virginia Bell. sits on the dash in the dust like a fallen angel like a mother I keep it there thin slip of balsa, the ballast of two paper wings faded, folded just so the tail as if wicked from a butterfly you made it for a boy who was not of your body […]

Blessings.

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by David Bolton. weeding can be good for the soul. clean sheets put the body to sleep. a hug with love cleanses the mind. kindness is a building block to wisdom. art makes for an interesting life. humility leads to clarity. poetry can touch the soul. music takes one to heaven. grandchildren keep one young. […]

what to do if you are in distress.

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by Chris Farago. lie flat. taste the earth, or tequila, or something with a connection to the future.  the world is a magic eye puzzle and you have no focus.  focus. all of your eyes are magical, so you can see anything.  look at your old smoky mezcal self and carry on.  pick up a […]

never mind they were wolves.

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by Chris Farago. I was with, teaching them to darn their own skin in case of a mishap among the pliant furs. one of them told me no we’re fine, dial back the fanaticism to a three— we’ll edit our lore and make you an honorary wolf if you just shut the fuck about disaster […]

Advice.

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by Marissa Bell Toffoli. Easy to give, hard to take. I’m collecting wise words like buttons in a jar. Shook up– how they rattle before settling in. Pick one, test the weight of it in your hand. Try another, try them all. Hem and haw, and sew a new design. Plan for things to go […]