Illustration by Kevin James Hurtack © 2006
Rage Does Stand Between Reason and the Naked Flame
Anthony Bernstein © 2006
Rage does stand between reason and the naked flame,
locked in epic combat with the immortal open air.
By fury's steely sword, wielded with savage will,
rage brings forth the feral eastern gale,
shreds the shrieking sky to ribbons,
and drains the heavens dry as dust.
With a cadaverous grin,
rage does spring through the savage years,
cleaving the ages.
Loose the shattering slanderers!
Let these petty tyrants howl, roar, and bellow
into this vicious, disjointed vacuum.
Loose the torrential whirlwinds!
Let them throw off their lofty burdens,
to slather loathing's livid blade
with the blood and shiny gore
of a thousand victorious armies.
For none shall win the wounded day.
Neither shall these convoluted, self-serving principalities
be free to erect their preposterous, heavy-headed effigies,
nor unfurl their absurd banners with their inane symbols and shades,
nor scribble their alleged roles in history upon any official ledger.
These rights belong to the scales and feathered sky exclusively,
and are to be written solely upon the surface of the withering wind.
- to Dylan Thomas
END
Anthony Bernstein was jettisoned from the relative safety of the womb on 3/11/64 in New York City, where he was raised with two older brothers. Anthony presently resides in the historic East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, where he shares his home with several house cats.
A B's poem A Fair Harvest appears in Fighting Chance Magazine , a SF/horror journal, in the fall/winter ‘04 issue. His poem Abel's Offering appears in Poesy , a CA poetry publication, in the fall ‘04 issue. His poem Her Hate appears in the 2005 Providence Spoken Word Series Anthology . His poem Hungry Night is scheduled for publication this winter in Outer Darkness , issue thirty-four. His poems Man in a Maze and Reality Ripples are scheduled for publication this spring and summer in Tales of the Talisman , Vol. 1, issue four, and Vol. 2, issue one, respectively. His poem Plutonium Logic and a haiku are scheduled for publication in an upcoming issue of Handshake , a SF news/poetry journal out of the UK. his poetry also appears in the literary/art Zine, The Blind Man's Rainbow
A B. has recently released his first book of poems and short stories titled Strange Appendages . His next book, Reality Ripples , is arriving presently to the planet. Anthony also has a website featuring many of his surreal stories and poems: www.anthonybernstein.net
In addition to prose, A B. is also a skilled song writer/musician; he has played in several bands. College and pirate radio stations throughout the US and beyond have aired Anthony's songs. Some of A B's intense music will be added to his website soon.