Artwork by Jeff Beckmann

Just another one night stand
by Charles Christian
 
galaxy tripping space tourist
adrift in a gravity free pleasure zone
you laughed out loud at my corny chat-up lines
but I saw in your eyes you’d been lonely too long
spending your time on a cruise to the stars
when all you wanted was someone to hold
 
tugging at zips, with eagerly exploring hands
shedding clothing – and inhibitions – along the way
yearning bodies entwined in weightless ecstasy
 
afterwards... we floated like spoons
til the hum of star drives said you must go
languidly you dressed
I took you back to your ship
one final kiss, a smile
then we waved goodbye
 
was I the love of your life
could you have been mine?
too late now
six hundred light years lie between us
if you ever return
you’ll find only dust in a time-worn tomb
 

Artwork by Cathy Edmunds

Manichee Toad
by Cathy Edmunds

 
Even a gibbous moon fears to shine
on the worms that devour Manichee Toad.
Even a half-dimmed star looks away
as his flesh is consumed, and nibbled and slurped
in punishment for his grotesquerie…
 
Only the toothwort, devoid of all colouring
pities the loss of a kindred spirit.
Only the small spotted boggle-eyed slug people
weep and wail and gnash their gums
for the loss of Manichee Toad.