« Michael Keshigian » AFTERNOON BARBECUE The women share a secret, chattering until we enter their circle, giggling when they think we can't see. We ask them for a hint but they lower their eyes, smile delicately from the corners of their mouths. It only increases our desire to know. Perhaps it was something they did long ago, consequences notwithstanding, the memory possesses a lingering sweetness. This might explain their camaraderie, the way they rest their chins on the curl of their fists, stare at each other with intense intrigue. Tell us one story or give us a clue. Whisper a sentence or even a word that might carry in the warm summer breeze when you close your eyes to remember. CONCEPTION Barefoot in white slacks and her husband's sweater, she plays the piano most seriously, bungling Mozart with a grimace then a grin, the lamplight flickered unnoticed upon her fingers. The field from where her progeny once thrived has withered, grown voices and opinions have fled the confines of the arena where music, like a tranquilized tiger, swerves again. Her foot presses pedals, fingernails carelessly flit keys, and in her womb a musician is conceived. The house is no longer empty, half full with sound, she nourishes herself. WINTER MOON Lonely wanderer casts vague frosty glances through the window of my room and enlivens pristine icicles weighing on trees and wires to reflect an indifferent detached smile which glows amid the black cloudless sky. Were I to darken my attire wear an ashen shirt which resembles your face could I follow your icy path and meander beyond the confines of being? Between the worm holes and black tunnels of question? Become more wise than foolish? Then vanish from sight with realization at daylight's peek? Mike Keshigian's poems have appeared in Sahara, Bellowing Ark, ByLine Magazine, Fairfield Review, Red River Review, Sierra Nevada College Review and numerous other online and written journals. He has had 3 chapbooks published and multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. He is a musician and educator, performing and teaching on the collegiate level in the Boston.