“I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer.”

Tahar Ben Jelloun

••• The Mad Gallery •••

And So – Sharon O’Callaghan Shero

To see ALL of Sharon’s madly mysterious snaps, as well as our other featured artists, visit our Mad Gallery!

••• The Poetry Forum •••

This last week on Mad Swirl’s Poetry Forum… we savored some sin at a red light inn; we bit back the peel of heart at rest; we tongued a tingled tentacle stick; we slurped a sleeper’s shoulder lick; we failed a sweet temptation test; we swamped our senses, butterfly born from life’s pretenses; we birthed a king from a sardine thing. We roll back lid, expose id; a story in every tin. ~ MH Clay

KING OSCAR WILD CAUGHT SARDINES IN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL by Ruth Z. Deming

Starving, I wolf down many layered sardines
bathed in olive oil.

The King’s picture is on the papery cover
that rattles invitingly to my touch.

King Oscar would protect you from every threat
imaginable. Hordes of barbarians, with

Spears aloft. Floods on mountain-sides
that seek to squoosh us alive.

Thunderbolts of Zeus that
would sizzle our skin.

Such a hero is the King.
Broad shoulders with

Epaulets like ship
Masts.

Moustaches that sweep downward
A full beard like a roaring furnace.

He is our man.
The Good King Oscar.

December 1, 2018

editors note: Sardine salvation. Stock up for the apocalypse! (Canned ekphrasis? Uncanny! – check it out here.) – mh clay

The perception of life by Devika Mathur

the way I close my eyes is a seduction.
a clementine red prayer to my body,
with dark clouds. a sleepless child humming.
a black spot spinning in the sky, apparitions of liquid monotony.
it churns the limbs inside
with a mouth of lust.

there is a dark room with closed fists,
fists that shimmer red pain. Inside my mind of a blank page.
a white pure kiss hanging,
like a loop foreheads murmuring a word.

a seizure. a dream. I close my eyes, I see myself floating
alone in the lanes of words, a reverie of mists.
Flowers bloom inside my mouth. Knuckles of painted red nostrils.

This land is pious for I am unknown to myself.
I sneeze like a ghost
with my hands saying my uncanny dreams.
a concoction of love and death.
it’s here, speeding like a wasp.
we walk like ghosts,
sip and drink,
the arching thunders of time,
slipping softly.
hush and be quiet now. Be your own butterfly.

November 30, 2018

editors note: Which bring life? The perceptions or the words? – mh clay

Splatter Reel by Isaiah Vianese

I’m done with Desire,
that midnight menace,

but here he comes again
in his skin-tight tank top.

Even when I run,
he’s around every corner,

swallowing my screams,
mouth on mine,

his masked face
obscuring the stars.

November 29, 2018

editors note: We cry “Victim!” as we open the wine. – mh clay

Predator by Jada Yee

Diagnosed with narcolepsy
at the age of a spinning ceiling fan.

Only a matter of time before
it wraps a wing around this defenseless coffee cup.

An ethereal mouth and winter-thimbled
tongue startling open mouths and bare shoulders.

November 28, 2018

editors note: Sweet somnambulist, slurp to incite shut-eye. – mh clay

“Tentacles” by John Dorroh

Tentacles can be such a dirty word,
devious, circuitous to a degree, buried in such
a cunning connotation that says more than
what you may want to hear.

Say it out loud with me,
then say it out loud to yourself 7 times.
Don’t you think it sounds a bit dirty?
If I tell you over and over like the proverbial
diamond needle stuck in a scratched groove
on an antiquated black vinyl album,
you will know it is dirty, and you will avoid it on the streets.
Tentacles, tentacles, gonna-grab-you-with-my-nasty-tentacles,
leave big sucker whelps all over your neck, back, and upper legs.
Go look in the mirror
and tell me that I wasn’t serious.

November 27, 2018

editors note: Some suckers for such succor, say, “Stick’em!” – mh clay

Please. by Ted E.F. Roberts

Bite the skin of my words,
Peel back each sentence and
Taste what my heart would say.
Let us know each other
Intimately (but not well).
I was tired of loving
So unrequitedly –
But I’m well rested now.

November 26, 2018

editors note: To be recognized, received; so worth the pain of exposure. – mh clay

Sheridan Red Light by Kevin Rabas

Amber and I worshiped
each other’s hills
and ridges under the rosy
Sheridan hotel sign light
that came in her apt. window
KC nights. She lived
in Poet’s Corner, and I brought
her sonnets, verse –
and she cooked us chalky chicken
and poured white wine
into gold-rimmed glasses,
which we took great care
not to spill on her white white carpet
even when, on the floor,
we pushed the plates and table
away.

November 25, 2018

editors note: When decorum permits the sacrifice of decor. – mh clay

••• Short Stories •••

Whether you Need-a-Read or not, we won’t judge you! However, we do highly recommend you dig into “Judgement Both Ways” by Mad Swirl Contributing Writer Kim Farleigh.

Here’s what Short Story Editor Tyler Malone has to say about this pick of the week:

“It’s war all the time for everyone looking for new wars.”

(photo, “Life of Bars Behind Bars Behind Bars, Never Behind Us” by Tyler Malone)

IF that editorial note doesn’t pique your interest, THEN don’t click this link! But if it does…

••• Mad Swirl Open Mic •••

Join Mad Swirl this 1st Wednesday of December (aka 12.05.18) at 8:00 SHARP as we swirl up the mic at our mad mic-ness home, The Regal Room (located inside of Independent Bar & Kitchen)!

Swirve (Chris Curiel: trumpet; Tamitha Curiel: vocals; Clark Walker: drums) will be gettin’ this partay goin’ so don’t delay!

Come on out, one & all… share in the Mad Swirl’n festivities & if the spirits are movin’ ya, get yourself a spot on our list.

Come to be a part of this collective creative love child we affectionately call Mad Swirl.

Come to participate.

Come to appreciate.

Come to swirl-a-brate!

For you ‘bookers out there, visit our Facebook page & when the event pops-up, get you a spot on our list!

••• Mad Swirl Holidaze Merch •••

Extra! Extra! Read ALL about it! Mad Swirl Merch available just in time for the holidaze!

The whole mad swirl of merch begins right here, at our online store! If you haven’t already got yourself some mad threads to sport, then you’ve come to the right place.

We have Mens & Ladies tees in all sizes & even MORE colors. We also brought back mad mugs to fill with your favorite coffee, tea and/or whiskey!

New to the line-up: Hoodies! Tank Tops! Phone Cases! Stickers!

Come browse & if something catches your eye, get a little something-something for yourself & while you’re at it, get a little something for your nearest & dearest mad ones in your swirlin’ world!

••• Best of Mad Swirl : v2017 •••

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

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! 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…

Poetically Prayin’,

Johnny O
Chief Editor

MH Clay
Poetry Editor

Tyler Malone
Guest Short Story Editor

Madelyn Olson
Visual Editor