Stanzaic Stylings

Friendship   Whenever I call her, she is on the cusp of an interlude.When we are together honesty is her other name.   The world riddled with rift must reign in the sequences of her smile. Grief is her gatekeeper.   When the phone rings, her callers have promises to proffer. Full of fire, she is destiny's flaw.   Some symphonies will never be hers. Still my friend's lilt has the potential to light the lame. Often she disowns this gift.   Her universe seems untidy, but it is unsoiled. Her haphazardness is on display while mine is disguised.   It is things that we disagree upon are the things that draw me to her. Fortitude is this friend's flag. Sanjeev Sethi   is the author of three well-received books of poetry. His most recent collection  is  This Summer and That Summer  (Bloomsbury, 2015). His poems are in venues around the world:  Mad Swirl,   Olentangy Review, ...

SELFSAMENESS Emperor of my isolation I reign over mottled enclaves of the mind. Serrations on keys to my kingdom are chiseled by need. Examining pixels on the wind-screen I intuit. Readiness with my inner rondure intensifies the apercu. When a cloverleaf is choked I taper off the runway making minutiae my hallmark. I engage with embellishments in the sky, observe run of breath, agile colonization by ants. Welcome a cold caller with warmth. Are these frig-magnet smarts? Wisdom for one, hogwash for another. True as tics: inked on the letterhead of my life. SANJEEV SETHI (First published in Otoliths ) SANJEEV SETHI   is the author of three well-received books of poetry. His most recent collection  is  This Summer and That Summer  (Bloomsbury, 2015). His poems are in venues around the world including   The   Tower Journal, Peacock Journal,   The   Penmen Review, Red Fez,   Indiana Voice Journal, Soul-Lit,   T...

PECCAVI   Thuribles of trust coax me to be myself. In the calm of auroral currents, I inhale without worry. In the noise of many truths I choose my assailants.   One’s moral compass is as good as guilt permits it. Whetted by His workbook outcomes are unwemmed, though our daemon’s are lame as our lapses.   SANJEEV SETHI   (First Published in Hamiliton Stone Review) SANJEEV SETHI   is the author of three well-received books of poetry. His most recent collection  is  This Summer and That Summer  (Bloomsbury, 2015). His poems are in venues around the world:   Off the Coast,   Zoomoozophone Review, Spirit   Fire Review ,  Drunk Monkeys,   Degenerate Literature, Linden Avenue Literary Journal , Darkrun Review,   The Blue Mountain Review,   The Penwood Review, W.I.S.H. Press, Easy Street, Novelmasters,   Postcolonial Text,   Bluepepper ,    Otoliths,   and elsewher...

CONUNDRUM   The compositions on my corneas are in braille.  No need to tell me of the sinuosities between  us. Those engrams itch. I’m used to repeating  myself, like seeking shelter from charred ceilings.  Who do I execrate when one’s soil is swidden?  Pathographies  of our time guarantee I’m in a good place. I wonder  who creates this arrhythmia? When face-to-face with the past how does one manage?  I consume snifters: my way out of  messy corners.  Déjàbrew  is never a delight.   SANJEEV SETHI (First Published in The Jawline Review) SANJEEV SETHI   is the author of three well-received books of poetry. His most recent collection  is  This Summer and That Summer  (Bloomsbury, 2015). His poems are in venues around the world:   Off the Coast,   Zoomoozophone Review, Spirit   Fire Review ,  Drunk Monkeys,   Degenerate Literature, Linden Avenue ...