Ether Bisque

by Steven B. Smith

Steven B. Smith was born in the Bitterroot Mountains and raised on Paradise Prairie. He is a poet, artist, publisher of "Artcrimes," and author of "Stations of the Lost & Found" with Lady K.

I wonder if any of that matters
when the three bears get back
and assess the damage to their shack
just how laid back and forgiving are they for that
and will they cook her first or keep her as a pet?

When Julie Ursem Marchand is not protecting her printer from a precocious wiener dog in Elyria, Ohio, she can be found sharing her love of reading and helping patrons use the emedia collection at her local public library.

The translucent drapes lapped at
my toes like water along the
shore which was compiled of stones...
while the stone floor of the
balcony guided my wary feet
into the past of another world.

Joni Soule was born in Columbus, Ohio and raised by feral cats. Joni has been painting for over twenty five years and is also an accomplished singer-songwriter. She now makes Austin, Texas her home. She considers Vincent van Gogh a personal hero and spirit guide.

I take too many pills
They sit in my brain
My body can't dump out the remains
My mother is my own reflection
We become all things we believe in
Especially those we try to escape

Charles Cicirella currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He also hosts an online radio show called "Radio Ether."

We begin and we end with the sentences
we construct from ether and bone.
I know I've made a lasting impression.
Now if only I could find the blueprints
I left out in the pouring rain.

52 pages, Staple Bound

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Steven B. Smith is a poet, memoirist, photographer, blogger and collage/assemblage artist who makes his home in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. He's been writing poetry for nearly five decades, and for more than twenty years he published the famed ArtCrimes journal. He created a massive online art/poetry archive at agentofchaos.com, and a wide array of his poetry and collages have been published in the critically acclaimed books Where Never Was Already Is [2018, Crisis Chronicles Press] and Zen Over Zero: Selected Poems 1964-2008 [The City Poetry Press]. Smith and his wife Lady K have traveled the world extensively, creating and living art in places like Croatia, Morocco and Mexico, while blogging about the best, worst and most unique bits of their journey at walkingthinice.com. They've also collaborated on a book about Smith's life entitled Stations of the Lost and Found.