The page is blank like a sclera.

The heart is black

like the house.

The house is open like a sore.

The wife is a

dishmop. The children are vines.

The man, returning

with his suitcase full of poems,

is alive.

Let's change it all: it's all alive.

The page is black

like a heart, like an eye, children.

Corey Mesler, a Trappist Monk, was raised by wolves. He has Canadian blood, which, unlike Canadian Bacon, doesn't stay fresh if left out. He has rambled around some, mostly from the bed to the bathroom, and once saw Prince in the Los Angeles airport. He also dated Vanity's sister, but has no claims to ethnic insider information. He published a novel once that some people liked. He also claims to have written "It's my Party." His wife tells him which shirt goes with which pants.

He is the owner of Burke's Book Store, in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the country's oldest (founded 1875) and best independent bookstores. He has published poetry and fiction in numerous journals including Rattle, Pindeldyboz, Quick Fiction, Cranky, Thema, Mars Hill Review, Poet Lore and others. He has also been a book reviewer for The Memphis Commercial Appeal. A short story of his was chosen for the 2002 edition of New Stories from the South: The Year's Best, published by Algonquin Books. Talk, his first novel, appeared in 2002. Nice blurbs from Lee Smith, John Grisham, Robert Olen Butler, Frederick Barthelme, and others. He has a new novel, We AreBillion-Year-Old Carbon, due out in 2005 from Livingston. His latest two poetry chapbooks are Chin-Chin in Eden (2003) and Dark on Purpose (2004). He also claims to have written “It's my Party.” Most importantly, he is Toby and Chloe's dad and Cheryl's husband.