Nostrum by Peter Schwartz Augusta, Maine love has no watermark toys of chance and belonging play by the seawall the psychology of exits penetrates our movements like antiseptic; an aquarium filled with tomorrow's pills floats past our ears; we are forever's little mascots mummified at any minute by two handfuls of nothing. - mr. widowhood walks the streets; tries to corner the rain with vulnerability but suddenly falls silent to his blueprints these are lyrical flaws; the young and old counting and comparing what is shelved to see who will ultimately rule the shadows where everything flashes like prehistoric fish through a kind of traffic we are only just beginning to understand. - we make conversation with postcards; wear jewelery at the very edge of becoming pack two small coffins one with peaches; the other with etiquette because this is a green audition, darkened (again) with lyrical flaws our wardens respond only with the great synonymous. - these weathered words will pay for a secondhand rose or be canceled out like clocks as forever's little mascots make braver and braver masks; O great green veranda! after all this there will be soap and flowers. Peter has been practicing the craft of poetry for over 20 years.  His work has appeared in 100 print and online journals.  Those journals include: Asheville Poetry Review, Epicenter, and VOX to name a few.  He's an editor at the multimedia site Mad Hatters' Review and lives in a place where it is always snowing.

(photo by Ronald Fortini)