3 poems by Michael Bernstein

centrifuge



here,where
lust's dumb
braille
swells&
shreds the
tethers,
haunts
the air



here, in
unkempt,
viral
dark,a
fission
growing,
slays yr
name



here,the
gears
slow to
a crawl,
a meta-
static,
ultra Bliss




here,in
every lan-
guage
swarms
a soft
refusal
of the
knife







here,past
menac'd
streets we
lay w/
our pla-
toon of
tired
Gods


hex


yr feet
boil

the pave-
ment,yr
voice bu-
ckles

glass


wrung of faces


the night
holds us
to this

ero-
sion of
sense,
a ditto

wrung of
faces,a
joyous

molten
slur.the
map
blanch'd

yr myth
is vague
&hides

in coves
of low-
slung
lights.
smoke

spittle,
the neu-
ral drone
of bugs

pushing
towards er-
asure,a
kiss

to bi-
sect
skies






Michael Bernstein is a writer, bass player, and intermedia composer. His work has appeared in publications such as New American Writing, milk, and BlazeVOX, as well as in numerous chapbooks. With Michael Crake, he edits the online literary arts magazine Pinstripe Fedora, and often serves as a musical accompanist for other poets. Michael lives in Cleveland Heights, OH.