Susan Isla Tepper has two new books of fiction coming out in the spring and winter of this year. She presented her darkly comic play CLANDESTINE in an Equity Premiere Staged-reading, hosted by SHOPTALK, on June 10 at EAG Guild Hall Theatre, NYC. Her most current Novel “Hair of a Fallen Angel” was published by Spuyten Duyvil Books. A twenty-year writer, she’s written 12 published books of fiction and poetry and 7 stage plays. Honors include 24 Pushcart Prize Nominations. Her play ‘The Crooked Heart’ concerning artist Jackson Pollock premiered on October 25, 2022 at the Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC. Adapted from an earlier novel, it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Susan is a Brand Ambassador for The Galway Review. A Youtube music video for her latest novel at: https://youtu.be/W2HVIc4NrqY

JUST PAST SUNRISE

By Susan Isla Tepper

Someone drew a heart
black ink on a paper napkin
a good sketch
some artist might make
suffering a broken attachment.
Then getting up
from having coffee
in this place
leaving it behind
to be tossed away.

I point this out
to the counter boy
who dimples when he smiles.

Just past sunrise
I take the route along the river
a small tugboat moored
or simply drifting—
how lovers float
while kissing
down deep under
the tight closed space.

Glenn Bowie is a published poet, lyricist, and photographer from the Boston area. He also owns and operates an elevator company that supplies custom-built elevators for clients from New England to Hollywood. Author of two poetry and photograph collections (Under the Weight of Whispers and Into the Thorns and Honey) on Big Table Publishing, he donates all profits from his books to various charities for the homeless and local animal shelters.