Artwork © Robert Fleming

 

Right, This Way

Good gates, a poet might say,
make good neighbors when free
of latches, locks, and fences, but
something there is that loves
a chain store, its trellis festooned
with artificial snow and plastic
holly and little white elves
dressed in red, welcoming us,
any of us (with cash), all of us
(with cards), on our way to
shop.

 

Expat New Yorker James Penha (he/him🌈) has lived for the past three decades in Indonesia. His story collection Queer As Folk Tales was published by Deep Desires Press in October 2025. His chapbook of poems American Daguerreotypes is available for Kindle. Penha edits The New Verse News, an online journal of current-events poetry.

Robert Fleming is a digital artist and visual poet from Lewes, DE. His books are White Noir, an Amazon best seller and Con-Way in 4 in 1 #4. Founding/contributing editor of Old Scratch Press and editor of Instant Noodles.

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