“I love art, and it plays a huge role in my life. It’s definitely one of my greatest joys..”

Jandy Nelson

••• The Mad Gallery •••

“I am the lamb” (above) by featured artist Elvin Armando

To see more of Elvin’s macabre canvases, as well as our other featured artists, visit our Mad Gallery!

••• The Poetry Forum •••

This last week on Mad Swirl’s Poetry Forum… we moleculed mirth in atom love birth; we lived as blessed on the day of rest; we turned mother and child to creator beguiled; we trashed our taste for corporate waste; we renewed our handle on cake and candle; we sank our stand in desert sand; we played our part in the business of art. Our creative visions from molecular collisions. ~ MH Clay

The Tale of Temecula by Christopher Calle

Father sky and mother earth
Came to union; valley sun
Held in light in this magic place
To tell the tale of Temecula.

A dry wind calls the adobe wake
Golden grape; aging stake
A steady man rides morning beam
In long relief around town

“Coffee sir?” plies winsome lass
His answer, her discretion
“Thank you ma’am” a solid script
subtlety her profession.

Often noticed, rarely seen
This Art raised from plaster plane
The Creator’s spell is motion struck
On amber waves and grain

“what do you wish?” she presses
lyre into stone
“to touch wonder” leading dancer back
“then come, my favorite one.”

Wooden ships break the mist
Christ and King they name
Desert palm peace to gallery thief
“By God, this be our claim”

“How do you choose them?” he continues,
Suitably comforted by her vision
“love and human condition” she says
depth in the edition

Dissolving shadow boundary, their instances collide
Out in the open; choice as art,
Art as business;
work as life.

Time melts up the belfry in this ancient pueblo town
Stakes and staves; forgotten names
While through cactus needles the dry wind blows
Outside the town of Temecula.

June 23, 2018

editors note: Original or limited edition; observer art as observation. – mh clay

SAND by Mark Senkus

we pinch with our eyes
the sight of the long horizon
spilling out this glow
to all sides of us
and the clouds move in tantrums
like snakes
like the tails of cats
thrashing in slow motion
and our motion slows
into this desert of ourselves
we find only mirages where
we should have been
we do not drink even when
all we know is thirst.

June 22, 2018

editors note: Mirage or mirror, this sip of existence is hard to swallow. – mh clay

Birthday by Tricia Marcella Cimera

When you blow out
your birthday candles — oh, don’t sigh.
Don’t think another year gone
or that your life is diminished
or how fleeting the flame is.
Think about how here you stand,
here you still stand blowing out
the tiny candles yet again on this
September date with your curly
hair and wild wild spirit and you,
you are not extinguished — no, you’re not.
Despite everything, despite it all.
You burn bright, baby.
You burn bright.
Now have some cake.

June 21, 2018

editors note: After those salad days, comes dessert. We’re never too old for cake! – mh clay

The Willing Face of Corporate Chemistry by KJ Hannah Greenberg

The willing face of corporate chemistry continues to abuse power, to ease
Charges brought against assart bullies liberating bosses from investigation.
Captured partners, even types pleasing to look at, die one by one, anyway.

Grasp, money’s successful hooks no longer astonishing workers or media,
Whether or not demises occur suddenly, else linger like bad drain cleaners
In toilets, sinks, bathtubs, reservoirs, all contrary to healthy living. Stinks!

Members of most sales forces buck competitively-priced services, likewise
Deign to advertise, as superior products, less-than-industry standard, tripe
While accruing adoration purchased across untruths, mendacities, deceits.

They purchase consumer love via quiltbag politics, possible epigenetic
Changes, place their findings in “academic” journals of no true worth.
Five year-old-styled wisdoms won’t ever parallel weathered certainties.

June 20, 2018

editors note: Wink your weather eye to discern the fakery in the f**kery. (It’s all f**kery!) – mh clay

THE SOUL OF CREATION by Devapriya Choudhuri

There is a crease,
A crease like a pain,
Small and crumbling
Small enough not to take it all away
Small and creased enough to make it uncomfortable forever.
It came because of love
Because the creator and the creation are bound together
It came out of love
Love to protect the creator from unwanted troubles
It forgot it was the creator.
She understands when things go wrong
She will get to know one day because the power is with her.
And the pain was inflicted by that stranger.
Without a thought, without a heart.
Just a convenience.
Bruising two hearts forever,
Scratching the souls.
Hearts get broken,
But souls heal.
Hearts go away from the other.
Souls are together forever.
Hearts beat together in love
Souls are entwined in a single form.
The creator is always the protector, the Mother
The created, the child who will always be inside her soul.
That stranger will cease to exist and at times
The child will scorn and fight the stranger
The child is now strong – strong enough to protect his creator
Roles reverse at times; the creator and the child.
The souls remain entwined forever – the child and the Mother.

June 19, 2018

editors note: A new spin on creationist theory. (Or, maybe not so new; which came first?) – mh clay

The seventh day by Milenko Županović

The protection
of the helpless
the witness
of the desperate
hope of the innocent
the seventh day
creation of life
on the bright side
of the death.

June 18, 2018

editors note: Bright, this side, begs the question; is really so dark from the dead perspective? – mh clay

birth of love by Milt Montague

floating in the roaring river of life
we are minute specks
slightly different from the others

until we notice one dot
suddenly unique
from all the rest

compelling us to separate
from the multitudes
join this unique life form

that my friends
is the birth of
love

for those who are so blessed

June 17, 2018

editors note: It’s molecular. We combine to make compounds, unique in the stew of life. – mh clay

••• Short Stories •••

Need-a-Read? Well need no further ‘cos we got just the fix for you!

This week’s featured very informative, child-rearing tale comes from Contributing Poet & Writer, Chuck Taylor!

Here’s what short story editor Tyler Malone has to say about this pick of the week story:

Just what do the smallest, bloodiest beasts grow into?

Here’s a teaser of Chuck’s “Bringing Up Little Beasties“:

(photo “Breaking a Devil’s Back” by Tyler Malone aka The Second Shooter)

Hello, everybody! Great to see you.

I guess you can tell by looking that I am a geezer, a crank, a codger, an old fart – as well as a wizened wise man in an age that can’t tell wisdom from information.

After making that profound remark, I’m going in another direction. I know what information is but don’t have the slightest clue about wisdom.

Maybe as a geezer I should, but I don’t. What I know of wisdom wouldn’t fill a single space in a plastic ice cube tray.

But I do know I’m fortunate to have grandchildren. My youngest I’ll call child X here. She is wandering around somewhere.

Child X is three and her mind is – what shall I say? — a fast moving river.

You can’t do anything with X. She’s an unknown. All you can do is follow her as she moves from one interest to another. She’s a toddler Jack Kerouac in Out of Diapers and On the Road, with a new delight and adventure around every corner.

X, modern toddler Beatnik…

Get the whole kiddo lesson right here!

••• Best of Mad Swirl : v2017 •••

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!

“The Best of Mad Swirl : v2017” is NOW available thru Amazon!

The Best of Mad Swirl : v2017 is an anthology featuring 52 poets, 12 short fiction writers, and four artists whose works were presented on MadSwirl.com throughout 2017. We editors reviewed the entire year’s output to ensure this collection is truly “the best of Mad Swirl.” The works represent diverse voices and vantages which speak to all aspects of this crazy swirl we call “life on earth.”

This anthology is a great introduction to the world of Mad Swirl!

Featured Poets (in order of appearance):

Devon Balwit
Tyler Malone
Brian Wood
James Brown
Lisa Shields
Megha Saha
Miceál Kearney
Clyde Kessler
Stephen Jarrell Williams
Adam Sometimes
Tom Hatch
Mark Senkus
Sanjeev Sethi
Samantha Hawkins
Mel Waldman
Joseph Farley
Heather M. Browne
Aekta Khubchandani
Sarah Karowski
Jeff Grimshaw
Sissy Buckles
Brittany Griffiths
Stefanie Bennett
Gayle Bell
Terry Severhill
Paul Hellweg
KJ Hannah Greenberg
Volodymyr Bily
Beate Sigriddaughter
Harley White
Lisa Moak
Chris Zimmerly
Cheyenne Gallion
Hongri Yuan
John Dorsey
Bradley Mason Hamlin
Peggy Turnbull
Bradford Middleton
Brendan Gillett
Julia Cirignano
Christopher Barnes
Ndue Ukaj
Christopher A. Calle
Peycho Kanev
Opalina Salas
Timothy Pilgrim
Steven Minchin
Marisa Adame
Alexandra Corinth
Johnny Olson
Bijaya Biswal
Sam Silva

Featured Writers (in order of appearance):

Donal Mahoney
J.D. Hager
N.T. Franklin
Philip Kobylarz
Taylor Evans
Ron Gibson
Tyler Malone
Naushena
Ron Riekki
Carl Perrin
DL Shirey
Mike Fiorito

Featured Artists (in order of appearance):

William Zuback
Joseph Shepard
Mike Fiorito
Bill Wolak

Get your very own copy of this Best of Mad Swirl (v2017 style) collection right here!

•••••••

The whole Mad Swirl of everything to come keeps on keepin’ on… now… now… NOW! Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, every decade, every every EVERY there is! Wanna join in the mad conversations going on in Mad Swirl’s World? Then stop by whenever the mood strikes! We’ll be here…

Joyfully Lovin’ It,

Johnny O
Chief Editor

MH Clay
Poetry Editor

Tyler Malone
Short Story Editor

Madelyn Olson
Visual Editor