On Northland No Evince

On Northland¹ no evince² battle medieval progra coquett³ bloodstream.

His no saint exultation⁴ fluently interrelated combat guidance by conflict⁵.

Morning nightmare⁶ focusing to shroud adolescence from original vexatiou⁷ romance.

Kneel below proud Eve⁸ images and belittle all-important items as to obtrusion⁹.

Redemption serviceable as opposite sandcastle carpenter¹⁰ reveals internal purity culture¹¹.

So at Tunisia, consider seven random mass graves¹² by public wish of past armageddon¹³.
       - Sabella Lettieri

Serving as a presbyteri cardinales to Pope Urban VIII at the See of Spoleto, His Eminence Lettieri (1582-1643?) was fond of writing poetry and often composed his reports in common meter. Pope Urban VIII was a great patron of Catholic foreign missions and frequently sent Lettieri to investigate the northern areas of the Holy Roman Empire. During this time, Lettieri formed strong opinions against the church’s autocratic bureaucracy as well as a personal disliking of Martin Luther, yet paradoxically expressed his admiration of the Reformation Movement. His Eminence Lettieri was subsequently excommunicated in 1643 and disappeared shortly thereafter. His writings are archived at the Vatican Library and remain as historical accounts of liturgical life during the Holy Roman Empire. At the request of Father Leonard Boyle (chief librarian), the following footnotes were included with this submission.

1. A reference to the Kingdom of Saxony.
2. (pronounced er-biche) Mercenaries of the Holy See in Saxony.
3. Crude term for a Gnesio-Lutherans group from Sweden that translates into "progressive eunuch". The word "medieval" is used to denote how poorly the Swedes were armed. Thus, this line of text is critical of both waring factions.
4. A reference to Martin Luther’s "95 Theses".
5. This line implicates Martin Luther for fueling the violence of the Protestant League despite his adamant denial of such activities.
6. The rising Reformation movement.
7. A slight twist on the Latin word for veneration; denotes sarcasm. This line criticizes the leaders of the Reformation as trying to remove all ties with the Catholic Church.
8. An off-handed remark about Katharina von Bora.
9. This line reports on von Bora’s secret passion on becoming a venerated leader of the Reformed Church. It also conveys the Reformation’s ideas of eliminating the worship of Saints and Sacraments.
10. A critical remark against the office of the Pope (sandcastle carpenter) and praise for Martin Luther's thesis (opposite sandcastle carpenter).
11. A reference to Martin Luther’s "95 Theses" (specifically 37 and 95).
12. A reference to the Ottoman Empire-supported Corsairs massacre of the Berber Hafsids.
13. This line points out the backlash the church continued to face for the Crusades. Thus insinuating that the Church should be prepared to pay for its past sins.

Uncork Hindrance

Ambition goddess
still waiting
for     morning
recklessly longing, dancing
at the
passion-kindling oven furnace.

Beauteous the stonecrop
is so bitter
against six most
symbol     and
by the visiting
nasturtium yellow panther cat.

Yellowstone the feverish
questions
misreading      of past
cranston prophesy
to centerpiece on retardant
open-headed pasture thistle.
       - Hiawatha Biros

Her Lady Biros (1392-1464) was a princess of the Nehântick tribe that lived in an area now known as New England. She was noted for her mastery of the Algonquian language and created several epic poems in honor of the tribal leaders and the war victories the tribe enjoyed during the peak of their existence. As custom of the day, her work was copied and modified by other tribes of the Eastern North American region, yet her style was unmistakable. Several generations later, all would have been lost during King Philip's War (when the Nehântick tribe was nearly decimated) if not for an intrepid Algonquian translator named Bartholemy Barnes. Mr. Barnes was sent to the colonies by Cambridge University under an agricultural engineering fellowship, but focused most of his attention on documenting all of Her Lady Biros’ works. A book of Barnes’ translation was published in 1680 by Gloucester and Kimberly (UK).

Foregoing Multifariousness Pandemonium

Self-destructive
 Bat mitzvah lyricist...
 still upset
 about
 synagogs closeting investment strategy
 and
 hardball solitaire extremist.


Demonic scary creature
 gluttonously drags
 psychedelics bosses...
 insensitively...
 without interruption...
 whatsoever.
           (poor dudes)


Oyster Perpetual
 evangelist
 approved
 waddle blabbermouth
 exultation
 towards
 sultan junk-food.
       - Mandy Zimmermann

Ms. Zimmermann (1903-1943) started her career in poetry during her studies at the Universität Breslau. Her first published piece, "Repetitive Aspect Continuous" was met with mixed reviews but stands out as one of the earliest adaptations of the Generación del '27 style. Her first and only book, Plagued Adventure, was published in Poland (1939) and received positive reviews for her ability to take different forms of poetry and craft them to her own style. Her family did not escape Poland before the Nazi invasion and was ultimately taken prisoner to one of the extermination camps. During the Shoah, Nazi guards allegedly tattooed one of her poems on her chest when they found out she was a poet. Ms. Zimmermann was executed at Chełmno nad Nerem in early 1943.

Michelangelo Moth Sexercises

Oligosaccharides
break down
leaving
her no athletics.

My dear
mischief-loving
Elma wrote:
Be it decreased
as proximity –
Preconceptio circumlocutio telluri.

Happy or not
Dear sir,
I am interested in it.
       - Guadalupe Covington

Ms. Covington (1774–1832) was born a mestiza in an area of South America now known as Suriname. Her father was an Englishman who traveled back and forth from the old world as a merchant first-class with the Dutch East India Company. In 1796, Ms. Covington traveled with her father to see his homeland but was stranded in Europe when the Dutch East Company went bankrupt in 1798 and all trading routes became subject of a hostile bidding war… making travel by sea rather expensive. Her father encouraged her to study literature at Leiden University where she excelled at language arts. Ms. Covington never returned to her native country and died peacefully at her home in Zeeland. A petition remains open in the Dutch parliament for transporting Ms. Covington’s remains back to her native land.

Diarrhea Permutation

A salad dressing
orbiting the prime minister
underhandedly shares a shower
with a federal ski lodge.

A federal ski lodge
steals pencils
from a vaporized cargo bay.
The pickup truck
behind the short order cook
ignores an apartment building.
When you see a carpet tack
it means that the chestnut
is reminiscing about lost glory.

A chestnut with an inferiority complex
secretly admires
the power drill.
A frustrating briar patch
satiates the boiled recliner.
An overripe blithe spirit
is muddy.

A blithe spirit flies into a rage.
A dust bunny slyly assimilates
a crank case.
A sheriff related to the minivan
believes that a satellite falls in love
with a loyal tape recorder.
But they need to remember
how a load-bearing burglar
wakes up.
       - Sharon Mesmer

Sharon Mesmer (1827-1890) was born in the interesting old town of Henniker, NH. On completing her school education she made Brooklyn, NY, her home. She published a volume of poems, national and miscellaneous, in 1857, which fixed her rank among the foremost of American feminine poets. After publication, she made an extensive European tour, visiting, with a party of friends, all the countries except Portugal, ascending the Nile, inspecting the noted attractions of Syria, and traveling in Russia over routes rarely frequented.

A Glimpse Of Paradise

Paradise is where almost
anything
could be sold.

End of story.

We let the beaten shepherd
keep
the money
when we lowered him,
unconscious,
to the ground.

"This calls for consultation," I said.
"For starters, there are all these
sheep
to consider."
       - Ben Myers

The Jacobin character known as "Ben Myers" is actually the creation of a number of London, UK-based authors, poets and dissidents. There are several theories as to who among English society are contributors of "Ben Myers". However, names that have consistently surfaced are Ian Kilmister (who had famously referenced Wordsworth in 1978), as well as Dean Jones and Phil Vane (they were accused of being part of the collective when they briefly performed under the banner of la Terreur in late 1984). Conspiracy theorists around the UK have published several books and constructed a web site discussing the history, origins and secret society of "Ben Myers".

DAY POEM

Melissa, Get new music ringt0nes - no cost
Melissa: Enjoy a Complimentary Digital Camera and Printer
Melissa, Claim your new widescreen TV

I think Yes   it’s all about voicemail
and email now   I think of sex   what a thing
for humans   I thought

it’s the 1970s and I’m so terribly worried about serving tasty coffee to my husband

Melissa, Gym Membership Paid for One Year by Us
Melissa: Get name-brand appliances!
Melissa: Claim your free* stainless steel gas grill

I liked to garden but really think of
flavor crystals
mountain grown

she likes the coupons
she can have them
I’m in it for the flavor

are these not
the same guys who dropped
a gallon-sized can of Dinty Moore Stew
from the dormitory roof

Melissa: Claim your free* stainless steel gas grill
Melissa, Increase your odds of getting a grant
Melissa: What's your opinion worth?
Melissa: This Kenmore Refrigerator – yours
       - Mel Nichols

Ms. Nichols is a Masonic educator (under The Order of the Eastern Star) and central curator at the Pyramid Gallery art center (Atlantic division). Her poems have appeared in numerous magazines, including PipLit, Forklift Ohio, Anomaly, Gargoyle, and Fascicle. She is co-editor of the journal illuminated meat, and an editor of English Matters. All of her day poems are titled "DAY POEM" with a collection of her work published by Edge Books in 2005.