The Expanding Universe
John Hayes
Quark, the great sea monster,
rose from the waters into the darkness of the land
and plucked his golden strings.
Evelyn, a copper serpent, surfaced next to him.
Quark commanded, “Acclaim my strength and beauty.”
Evelyn stroked his vibrating strings
and whispered in his ear,
“I think dear Quark this space is much too dark.”
As Evelyn spoke the egg of wisdom
from her vibrant body burst.
And Quark said, “Nourish the egg of wisdom
upon this spinning rock which I shall call Earth.”
As he spoke God rose from a mountain top
and created man and woman.
Quark said to God and to the man and woman,
“Admire my golden strings for I am master of the Earth.”
God replied, “Your Earth, dear Quark,
is much too dark. You need to explore
throughout your expanding universe and find
eyes that can see your golden strings
in the darkest night.”
Quark frowned. He nodded.
He rushed into the dark cosmos.
God said to Evelyn, “Fry the egg of wisdom.
Sunny side up is good,
I want my wisdom bright.”
Then god created light
so humans could adore him.
Quark still seeks adoration
in his expanding universe
while humans wait for wisdom’s birth.
 John Hayes appeared recently as Al Lewis in The Sunshine Boys and as a peanut vendor in Love and Peanuts, a one act play he wrote. He exhibits his sculpture wherever he can find an outlet and likes to read poetry at open mikes. He has been published in such magazines as Membra Disjecta, BareBone, Carleton Arts Review, Cemetery Moon, Lynx Eye, Psuedopod, Niteblade, and Hungur. Visit his web site to see his sculpture and more poetry.
Cristy Shauck has been writing and editing since 1991. Her poetry has appeared in High Grade, Whosever, The Platypus, and Elevated Living as well as a previous issue of Membra Disjecta. Her book (co-authored with Marie McClendon) The Healthy Lunchbox was published by The American Diabetes Association.
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Overheard at a Cocktail Party
Cristy Shauck
No, Dahling, I’m the Associate Dirtier.
They pay me to muck up the waters.
I love biting into messy situations—
snatching skeletons from closets,
planting them amidst what’s left of Jimmy Hoffa—
cultivating gossip vines
by spreading manure
with glovéd hands.
Guess who shakes up your economic globe,
coating all that slime with glitter
so no one can tell what’s really going on?
Oh, sometimes I think about quitting.
The hours are unpredictable, but the pay is great.
Besides, it’s the family business,
passed on to each generation.
Think I’m scum?
You should meet my clients.
I can’t reveal their names
but go ahead,
speculate.
Minor Inconvenience
Aurelio Rico Lopez, III
On the platform,
Impatient grumbles course
Through the huddled crowd.
Trains wait, unmoving
Like giant millipedes
On iron paths.
From overhead speakers,
A female voice
Apologizes profusely
For the delay.
Entire railway at a standstill.
Gremlins on the tracks.
Please bear with us…
Aurelio Rico Lopez, III is a self-diagnosed scribble junkie from Iloilo City, Philippines. His poems have appeared in various venues such as Mythic Delirium, Star*Line, Sybil’s Garage, Black Petals, Steel Moon Publishing, Tales of the Talisman, Kaleidotrope, Electric Velocipede, Wanderings, and The Shantytown Anomaly. He is also the author of the chapbooks Jolts, Shocks, and Oddities from Sam’s Dot Publishing. You can reach him at thirdylopez2001 @ yahoo.com.
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