Poetry

"I saw him flapping around in the grass..."

"...In such havoc, trying to gather the little happiness..."

"They sang and shouted with joy as he paced about, whispering..."

"...I'm not the fly that annoys, nor the yellowed, shunned Polaroid..."

"...Whydah Sibyl still sings her lovelorn sonnet..."

In April 2002, the Piker Press was created by Alexandra Queen as a weekly online journal of literature, art, commentary, and who knows what else. Her daughter, the author of this week's cover piece, was born just a few weeks later.

"...Four dollars and ninety-seven cents, unless the parental unit found a sale elsewhere..."

"...try to remember who died, who got married the last time we saw each other..."

"...the decay of hope like worms in the garden..."

"...unwilling to reveal the secrets she has conceived..."

"...the sound of my footsteps in the morning..."

"...It's the latest, sexiest, of professions..."

"...A lifetime of New York City subway riding..."

"...Existence gets out of control..."

"...full of sugar and spice and everything nice..."

"...this is a great mystery..."

"...the knowledge you acquire, the love you share..."

"...Heart to mind to lips, gone from the universe..."

"...Leaves pulled away from the canopy..."

"...their goal was to get stinking rich..."

"...Books come from ghosts..."

"...the ghosts are already on the move..."

"...Lust in the lexicon..."

"...yes, craft as we were conscious of treacheries ..."

"...Promises kill tomorrows and time exposes the flaws..."

Ahmad Al-Khatat was born in Baghdad. From Iraq, he came to Canada at the age of 10, the same age when he wrote his first poem back in the year 2000. He also has been published in several press publications and anthologies all over the world.

Not only is it April Fools' Day, April is also Poetry Month.

"...What equation would we use?..."

"...the road a sheet of ice..."

"...a hurting truth is slanted toward obduracy..."