Poetry all the way, with a return of Bruce Boston & Herb Kauderer plus a debut by Sharon Larkin

We've four short poems to start with – three by Bruce Boston and one by Herb Kauderer – followed one slightly longer poem by new-to-the-Angel writer Sharon Larkin. Bruce takes a novel spin on some established concepts, Herb's tanka reminds me of some of William Gibson's ideas, and, finally, Sharon suggests some people might enjoy being probed by aliens.

A Dubious Talent
 
She was a clairvoyant
who could only
foresee the future
of alternate realities. 


Paint It Black

At the dead heart
of a collapsar 
lies a locked door
to another universe.


Excuse of a Black Hole
 
Don't blame me!
I eat to survive,
just like you.
 

by Bruce Boston...  His work has appeared in hundreds of publications, including Asimov's SF, Amazing Stories, Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, Weird Tales, The Pedestal Magazine, The Twilight Zone Magazine, Year's Best Fantasy & Horror, and the Nebula Awards Showcase. His poetry has received the Bram Stoker Award, the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Rhysling Award of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, the Balticon Poetry Award, and the SFPA Grandmaster Award. His website is at www.bruceboston.com


Business Deal
(tanka)
 
Red-haired wonder
sells her image to business
her trademark is lost.
Her own family photos
omit her forgotten face. 


by Herb Kauderer... Herb is an associate professor of English at Hilbert College. His tenth book of poetry – The Snowstorm of '14' (recently published by Written Image Press) – is the result of living at ground zero for two of the most epic snowstorms in the history of snowy Buffalo, NY.


Venit, Vidit, Fugit
 
He was different from the rest:
attentive, inquisitive, persistent.
 
I readily responded to his attention, 
enquiries, yes, even the interrogation.
 
He was tireless in bed – inventive.
And so, I miss him. Madly.
 
Once you've had a lover like Zek
you'll not be satisfied with any other,
 
nor be in a fit state to accommodate
anyone of normal appetites.
 
He came suddenly,
departed in an instant, leaving a note:
 
Recalled to my galaxy.
Thanks for the probings.


by Sharon Larkin... Sharon’s poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies including May Day (Cinnamon) and Heart Shoots (Indigo Dreams). She is chair of Cheltenham Poetry Society.