Vyacheslav Kotov (Russia)
MIDNIGHT
Vyacheslav Kotov wears many hats. He is a poet, writer, translator, screenwriter, film director, animator, songwriter and singer, and also the one who you can call the most popular catchword of today, a YouTuber. Vyacheslav is an award winner of several film festivals including in particular Dollar Baby Film Festival Russia where he won second place and audience choice award. He is the author of several songs for animation series released by Riki Studio (creators of Kikoriki series. His YouTube channel was given a Silver Creator Award. Vyacheslav is also a representative of The New School of Translation and Interpretation. He has more than a thousand translated films to his credit.
Midnight. Alley. Victim. Knife.
Struggle. Stab. The dusk of life.
Thunder. Scream. “No! Oh, my God!”
A rain of tears and a rain of blood.
No one near to make a call,
Only me and him, that’s all.
It is over. Quick. Too bad.
He has left and I am dead…
Paulo Palz (Nigeria)
THE RIPPER
Paulo Palz is a B. Tech in Polymer Science and Textile Technology and is currently a 300 level student of Biochemistry who hails from the southern part of Nigeria. He has written many poems and has also been recently featured in the anthology Nightfall and Other Poems.
Do yourself a favour
When he hurts you
Do not come for a hug
My arms would be tied
When he abandons you
Do not seek refuge in me
I would have gone abroad
When he despises you
Do not come for my love
I would be short of feelings
My love has gone sour
Bled out cold and dead
My humanity’s been shut
I have gone all black and grey
My heart seems to be missing
Emotions are long gone
I have accepted grief and pain
Sadness and misery now clothe me
Love’s been sent out of my window
When he abandons you
Do not ask for clemency
Mercy is for the weak
I am ruthless now
Even the French call me
La Bête dans l’ombre
My penchant is your blood
The scent and taste of it
Rolling down my tongue
Your flesh stuck in my teeth
All I see is darkness
For I am the ripper
Linda M. Crate (USA)
YOU BAKED THIS PIE
Linda M. Crate’s poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has ten published chapbooks: A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press, June 2013), Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon, January 2014), If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016), My Wings Were Made to Fly (Flutter Press, September 2017), splintered with terror (Scars Publications, January 2018), More Than Bone Music (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, March 2019), the samurai (Yellow Arrowing Publishing, October 2020), Follow the Black Raven (Alien Buddha Publishing, July 2021), Unleashing the Archers (Guerilla Genesis Press, August 2021), and Hecate’s Child (Alien Buddha Publishing, November 2021) and three micro-chapbooks Heaven Instead (Origami Poems Project, May 2018), moon mother (Origami Poems Project, March 2020), and & so I believe (Origami Poems Project, April 2021). She is also the author of the novel, Phoenix Tears (Czykmate Books, June 2018).
you thought you were the
only predator,
you thought wrong;
the only thing that will be music
to my ears is the beating of your heart
and the quickening of your breath as
you run out of places to hide—
tried to give you peace,
but you wanted a war;
so i left behind the magic of me
that whispers in flowers and light to
adorn myself in the battle armor
of my wrath and rage—
here i am fangs and claws out,
i will rip you to ruin with a smile;
after all you told me i should be happier—
i hope you like the apples,
you baked this pie of misery.
Sam M. Phillips (Australia)
COVERED
Sam M. Phillips is the co-founder of Zombie Pirate Publishing, producing short story anthologies and helping emerging writers. His own work has appeared in dozens of anthologies and magazines such as Full Metal Horror, Flash Fiction Addiction, World War Four, and Dastaan World Magazine. He lives in the green valleys of northern New South Wales, Australia, and enjoys reading, walking, and playing drums in the death metal band Decryptus. You can find out more about his books and publishing at www.zombiepiratepublishing.com. He is also a prolific poet and his poetry can be read on his blog
