Menacing Hedge

issue 1.02 :: fall 2011

Our bravest contributors have shared with us some of their more earnest efforts from the misty past. Scary Bush should not be reviewed while in the process of drinking liquids, and the reader assumes all risk.

Toys

Daniel M. Shapiro

Backseat

Taylor Altman

Turkey Plastics

Margaret Bashaar

Untitled

Jessy Randall

Beautiful

Taylor Altman

Untitled

Stephanie Dickinson

A Box Of Old Photographs Of The Sonnet Sequence

Carl James Grindley (age 16)

A. A Day In Spring

On a bright sunny day
Near a white picket fence
Should be a mighty brick wall
Used for beating in sense.

B. Composed At Night

I cannot help it.
The more and more and more
And more and more and more
I think about Lora, the more
I think about her. Grrrr.

If love is sick
And almost dead
Then cut off dick
And tape to head.

C. Love

Hold my hand and walk with me;
I will stare at the floor
And rub your fingers with mine,
And if that is not true love,
I will hold my breath till I turn blue.

D. Breadbox Calling Venus!

Hi, Venus!!!
I am a breadbox!

E. Written On My Desk

This tabletop is covered with
A tiny spot of blue.
Did I scribble on my desk?
Yes, such a thing is true;
But will the ink spot fade away
Unlike my love for you?
Help me please, I cannot say.
My orange cat says "mew."

F. You Can Call If You Want

Calling is easy
If you want to.
Call me.
Please call me.
But do not tell me what I do not really want to hear.
And do not talk to me about things that bore me.
And do not ask questions.
And do not tell me about yourself or your problems,
Because I do not care.
And listen to my words when I talk,
Because after all
I am the important one.

G. Prose and Cons

Image things flash quickly by.
I would like to rhyme.
Seriously.
You know, like, I think this, like,
Girl type thing, Lora,
Would do, like, do it and
When, like, it really happened,
Or if
She did something,
What then?

H. Brontosaurus Blues

Brontosaurus blues
Orthopedic running shoes
Prehistoric retardation
Nine o'clock news
Trepidation
Masturbation
Arabs and Jews
Hyperactive jurisdiction
Horrible science fiction
Sixteen kangaroos

I. Unreadable in Any Tongue

Periscopes peeking up the ocean's skirt:
Shame on them. Who am I kidding? Shame on me. START AGAIN.
Sharks are
Lying bastards, fish or not, there is always a choice.
What does it mean?
No one knows: incomprehensible.
Incomprehensible is an attractive word:
Look at it, all those vowels, about five syllables.
Speaking of good looking words, syllables is one too.
It has way too many l's for its own good. START AGAIN.
November draws to a close and Lora jumps for the other side of December,
Wading into Christmas with tentacles decorated in tinsel,
Carrying a basket full of eggs for later.
Lora, a suburban sea-creature, scoots off on a skateboard
Dropping breadcrumbs as she goes,
Leaving a trail for me. THAT IS IT, I AM LEAVING

J. Lora - Virginity = Woman

Cascades of
Push and pause:
Wait a second.
Okay?
Now? Okay.
Okay?
Right again,
(Pause) okay?
Good, yes?
Yes?
No?
Yes.

K. Me - Virginity = Man

Oh yeah?
Yeah!

L. How do I feel?

Sigh.
I sure am glad that that is all over.
Yeah.
Really, yeah.

M. Carry-on Baggage

One suitcase containing:
A dress, a bra, some panty hose,
A couple more personal things,
Some makeup, a crappy novel, a letter from her sister,
And one, maybe, embryo.

N. Write it Down

Verb or noun—
Write it down—
Dripping meaning
So profound.

O. Pregnant II

Her shallow sighs and empty eyes
Rimmed blood shot red, she sullen hides
And tries her best to un-realize
The way I had fed her charms and lies,
Flashed witty speech and sexualized
Everything until with open thighs
She gave it up without reprise,
But when I had done and claimed my prize,
I left her with a small surprise,
A sticky thing of tiny size,
A life within that makes her die,
So now she dreams of life long ties
And plans of walks in white disguise,
Then pictures me, and sobs and cries.

P. Thank God For Her Period

Ahhhh.
That was too close.