Birds settle on a tree for a while,and then go their separate ways again.There is no separate way apart from you.When I breathe, I can taste your breath,ablaze with an all consuming fire.When my heart aches,there is nothing you will not understand.Many have died in this house, but not you. Overtaken by this thing which men […]
relationships
Twin Flame

Search as I will, I cannot find the cause.Reunited with you, it doesn’t seem to matter,so holy and instinctual is this passion, the hummingbirds bring us offerings of flowers George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, Chronogram Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The Angle at St. […]
Restoration

comes with night,a “Womb Flower”, the fountain of her blood, a precious curse cloaking its opulent tarp over the earth tent. In the morning, the dew of ecstasy. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, Chronogram Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The Angle at St. John Fisher College, and 3:16 Journal. George’s blogs, essays and letters have […]
Till death do us part

You were still a stranger to me then, when I longed to figure out your secrets, if you had any,before we fell in love and learned how to solve each other’s problems. Once I read a story about the “Wild Boy of Aveyon,” and you reminded me of that poor wolf child, a creature urged on by hunger, digging for […]
Alone again

the scent of burnt cloves and saltwater sticking on her jeansShe thinks about roasting coffee that way but doesn’t. The ocean is restless. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, Chronogram Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The Angle at St. John Fisher College, and 3:16 Journal. George’s blogs, essays […]
The Speed of Light

She is getting in bed when she realises she is outof the half-and-half she takes in her morning coffee.He is still dressed. He tells her he’ll walk to the marketand get some for her. The market is two blocks from their apartment.As he walks, he looks up and sees starsthat have not existed since before […]
Changing the Rules

When I am not trying rules change.I am no longer afraid of who I am. Valueless like the tree falling with no one there to hear it crash.I love you. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, Chronogram Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The Angle at St. John Fisher College, and 3:16 Journal. George’s blogs, essays […]
I Know You Know

I accepted your apologyimplicitly, but the aftertasteof those emails stuck inbetween my teeth like a kernel of popcorn. I tried topick it out, you know I did.Yet, it remains below the crevice of the gums, a halfburied fleck of fake gold. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such […]
Missing Another

Master Jingzong; English translation by Foying, edited by Jingxing We may think that our memories of people will eventually fade. But as it turns out, the feeling of missing another only grows stronger with time, although subtly. I often remember my parents who passed away many years ago; my siblings, friends, schoolmates, former colleagues; Venerable Master […]
Compromise Is Essential

Master Jingzong; English translation by Foyuan, edited by Jingtu Compromise is not just an important work method, but also an essential attitude towards life. Indeed, it is an art. Anything can be dealt with through compromise. To compromise means to admit our mistakes first, in exchange for the other party’s acknowledgment of theirs. Each takes a […]