California State University (CSU): Open Journal Systems

Svoboda, Jeannette

* 
jeannette Svoboda 
a blackness 
shoots past my smal l  kitchen window 
a shot from a gun 
it smashes i nto the ground,  exploding 
i nto b ird sounds 
shoots back u p, i nto the a i r, toward the front yard 
I run to the front door 
the falcon on the driveway, crouching 
it j um ps down hard on its talons, smal l  b i rd 
squeezed between 
I l i ke to watch th i s  pursuit  of food. 
keen eyes do not rest 
h i s  and m i ne, we both watch ,  i ntent 
he peers up and down 
ready for an enemy 
I peer straight ahead at that need 
that I want 
90 


English

a blackness

Comenas, Cathy

Notes of a Deburrer: for Mari

Review, Northridge

Bill Mohr: An Interview

Jones, Jordan

Cigar 
Jordan Jones 
Thick, brown 
wet rounded end 
or an abandoned cigar 
and the smoke 
clinging to the memory. 
51 


Cigar

Weinstein, Bonnie

After Dinner Drinks 
My bloated belly pops 
gin and pineapple juice don't 
mix something that'll make elephants 
drunk so I can laugh in bed tonight 
I don't want to be alone pour 
ice down to make it cold 
kisses are a waste - I need this drink 
all of it like a good little girl 
think you can handle me and not break 
the ice is melting dammit can't you 
do something right for a change 
of pace - lets move it a step faster 
further apart is better 
I wake up 
to find black pumps standing 
guilty next to a fallen cushion 
half empty glasses 
with all the ice 
melted 
75 
Bonnie Weinstein 


After Dinner Drinks

Pronk, Ron

ron prank 
An Old Routi ne 
This is not goodbye 
Grandfather says to his fami ly, laying h is head 
deep into the p i l low 
so deep you cannot hear h i m  
breath ing a t  night through t h e  closed door. 
Sure enough, he rises at dawn 
and hobbles his arched body 
through its dai ly routi ne. 
What he does seems du l l  to us 
but he says the world is a lways d ifferent 
in his garden - each day, someth ing new to touch. 
Even in winter he wants to study the earth 
what it m ight bring. 
How his smi le keeps us warm! 
1 0  


An Old Routine

Bobrick, Lori

Iori bobrick 
Slaug hterhouse Two 
The scene takes place inside and outside a two-story wooden 
house. Seymore and Stanley are seated, on stage left, at the kitchen 
table, drinking coffee and reading the morning paper. A door se­
parates them from stage right. 
SEYMORE: I can't stand read ing  the paper, it's so depressing.  
You know, the crime rate's gone up again.  The 
world just isn't a safe p lace anymore, there're too 
many lunatics runn ing around. 
STANLEY: Well ,  I don't know, I th i nk  it's basically a social prob­
lem, there's too much poverty and not enough work. 
Many people go through l ife un loved, uneducated 
and misunderstood. It's a real tragedy. 
(WOLFGANG WALKS TOWARD THE DOOR FROM 
STAGE RIGHT) 
SEYMO RE: I th ink there just aren't enoug h jai ls. We're so afraid 
of overcrowding our cri minals that we'd rather leave 
them out on the streets than expose them to such 
beastly i njustices. We're too fair Stanley, and it's 
f inal ly catch ing up with us. It's getting to the point 
now where we can't even open up our own doors 
without being afraid. 
(WOLFGANG BANGS ON TH E DOOR) 
SEYMORE: (PARANOI D) What's that? 
STANLEY: The door. 
SEYMORE: I 'm not going to open it. (LO U D) Go away, there's 
nobody home. 
(WOLFGANG KNOCKS AGAIN) 
SEYMORE: (GOES TO DOOR, YELLS) I said go away, there's 
nobody home. 
49 
WOLFGANG: LITTLE P IG!  LITTLE PIG!  LET M E  COME IN. 
SEYMORE: Oh damn, it's that wolf again. 
STANLEY: Wel l ,  ask h i m  what he wants. 
SEYMORE: ·1 know what he wants, he wants to eat us. 
WOLFGANG: I said: LITTLE PIG,  LITTLE PIG LET ME CO M E  IN .  
SEYMORE: Not by the hair  of  my ch inny ch in  ch in .  
STANLEY: God Seymore, you're so paranoid. At  least ask h im 
what he wants before you start acting so rudely 
towards h i m. You know, maybe if S idney was pol ite 
and friend ly, and let the wolf i n ,  h is  straw house 
would sti l l  be standing and there would sti l l  be three 
l i ttle pigs. 
SEYMORE: I can't bel ieve what you're saying.  You're defend ing 
our  brother's murderer. 
STANLEY: M u rderer? How do you know it wasn 't an accident? 
At least g ive h i m  the benefit of the doubt and speak 
to h i m  before you persecute h im .  
SEYMORE: I won't speak with that murderer. 
STANLEY: (GOES TO THE DOOR) Hey wolf. 
WOLFGANG: Yeah? 
STAN LEY: What do you want? 
WOLFGANG: I just want to use your phone. My car broke down 
and I 've got to cal l my wife and tel l  her I ' l l  be late for 
d in ner. 
STAN LEY: (TO SEYMO RE) Wel l ,  that sounds reasonable. Let's 
let h i m  in .  
SEYM ORE: (GOES TO THE DOOR SO THE WOLF CAN HEAR 
H IM) No, th is is my house and I won't have a wolf 
use my phone. 
50 
... 
WOLFGANG: Then I ' l l  huff and I ' l l  puff and I ' l l  blow your house 
down. 
SEYMORE: Damn it ,  I knew we should have bui lt a brick house. 
STANLEY: I l i ke wood, it g ives the house a sort of l ived in  look, 
blends more with the surrounding environment, pro­
vides a healthier atmosphere and wasn't as heavy 
to carry as . . . . . . .  . 
SEYMORE: ( INTERRU PTS) Wolf, you've got 30 seconds to get 
away from my door. If you're n ot gone by then, I 'm 
cal l ing the Wood Chopper who saved Little Red 
Ridinghood from your cousi n .  
STANLEY: You know what's wrong with th is  world? No dip lo­
macy. Now I 'm sure we can work th is out peacefu l ly 
and there w i l l  be no need for violence. 
WOLFGANG: Amen! 
SEYMORE: You know Stan ley, your psychology classes have 
ruined you. You've lost your senses. 
STANLEY: Maybe so, but I haven't lost my d ign i ty. I wi l l  not let 
some wolf blow my house down just because I 'm 
too paranoid to let h im in .  We are not people,  we 
are ani mals, rational and i ntel l igent, we should try 
to work out our  differences. We are no longer the 
uncivi l ized savages of yesteryear, we are . . . . . . .  . 
SEYMORE: ( INTERRU PTS) We are pigs! He's a wolf! Wolves 
eat pigs, there's no dip lomacy, it's just matter of 
fact. 
STANLEY: (TO SEYMORE) I ' l l  never understand you. Haven't 
you been l istening to me? We should strive towards 
an understand ing with our fel low creatures, d raw 
up new social contracts, learn to love and respect 
each other instead of confin ing ourselves behind 
locked doors. This is  no  l i fe. We're afraid of our 
own shadows. We never go out after dark. Let's 
l ive, Seymore! Let's take a chance. 
WOLFGANG: Bravo! Bravo! Bri l l iant speech, and may I add that 
51 
we are a l l  brothers u nder the same sun.  We must 
learn to trust each other. To l ive i n  fear is never to 
l ive at al l .  
STAN LEY: (TO SEYMORE) Listen to him, he's r ight you know. 
We are the world. 
SEYMORE: Maybe you ' re right. Maybe I have been too hasty in 
my j udg ments. Maybe there's some middle g round .  
Yes, I l ike the way that sounds. Let's d rop the barriers 
and open the door! 
(STANLEY OPENS THE DOOR, WOLFGANG EN­
TERS INTO THE HOUSE) 
WOLFGANG: Thank you, I j ust want to use you r phone. (LOOKS 
AROUND) You real ly have a lovely house. 
STAN LEY: (TO SEYMORE) See how n ice he is, he compl i­
mented your house. Oh,  M r. Wolf, the phone's over 
there on the tab le. (TO SEYMORE) You know, it's 
going to be a whole new way of l i fe for us now, I can 
feel it. 
SEYMORE: You know, I th i n k  you're rig ht. I real ly feel good 
about this. 
WOLFGANG: (P ICKS UP THE PHONE, DIALS, WAITS A BEAT) 
Hel lo honey, good news, we're having ribs for 
d in ner. 
(BLACK OUT) 
52 


Slaughterhouse Two

Walton, Wendy

Wendy Walton 
A House, A Snake, A Tree, 
and A Lake 
You ask me to d raw you a p ictu re 
of a hou se, a snake, a t ree, and a l ake. 
Though I qu estion you r reason, I scratch my reply 
u pon a scrap of cr inkled m e m o  paper. 
I f ini s h  and you exam ine m y  house with m any windows 
and the door t h at stands ajar, 
m y  rooted, l eafless t ree, m y  s q u iggled snake, 
and my lake - large and waved. 
You interpret my p i ctu re, 
seeing t h at I invite peo p l e  into my l i fe, 
fee l  rooted in who I am, and that tonight 
my e m otions are too tro u bled to feel  sens ual. 
I don' t  need to see you r  p i ctu re to know 
that yo u r  house h as fewe r windows, 
and that yo u r  snake coi l s  aro und you r  rootless tree 
near yo u r  lake - s m al l and waveless.  
20 


A House, A Snake, A Tree, and A Lake

Williams, Deborah

Deborah Williams 
Rh ubarb Pie 
I. 
I watched my mother cut rhubarb pie 
pul l ing a black handled knife through 
flaking crust, sliced even motion, 
falling crumbs blending the abrasive cleansed counter tor 
Then we al l  sat down 
as orderly as polished flatware on the napkins 
after having checked my back in the mirror 
I sat straight. 
slipping feet, hidden under the table, from tight shoes 
Mother said cousin Sherry was looking 
better these days having lost some weight, Father nodde 
as I pushed the pie-filled fork over my tongue 
thinking how good the feel 
the feel of my soles brushing, rubbing 
over the smooth tops of my shoes 
I I .  
Barefoot, I scoop rhubarb pie, slap it onto the plates. 
My daughter says, "really mom, can't you do anythir 
without 
making a mess?" 
" Nope," I reply, a fat smile widening my face. 
73 


Rhubarb Pie

Arbor Karnes, Joy

Alarm Clock 
Once wound, it ticks measured steps 
until, held in too long, 
its shrill shriek of morning breaks in 
ripping calm 
with panic .. soaked sheets. 
MlJ alarm clock wears two bells 
Joy Arbor Karnes 
like earmuffs or Princess Leia' s cinnamon 
bun braids. A present from Aunt SlJluia 
when plalJing with dolls was banished. 
Once, 1 threw it under the bed _. 
it uHered a CflJ _. 
and 1 marked its silence 
for months. 
A crack, a scar on its face, 
a wound it sees the world through. 
l haue learned to distrust 
its judgment. 
l haue another alarm clock. 
It plugs in, a glowing beacon 
in a dark room 
(like Me Donald's down 
a foreign road, ghost of familiarillJ 
left behind) 
it can't sneak up on me. 1 awaken 
softllJ to it. 
'But the other one keeps 
UJith me, a scornful uoice 
SalJing, "put that poem 
back in lJOUr mouth. " 
Tbe Nortbridge Review 
93 


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