Super Mario Bros. Coin

By Jose Oseguera

We’re the most common item

Found in this two-bit overworld,

But as we warped down the ultrasonic tunnel black,

What I saw was a rather uncommon glow.

It was a life—

Too fragile still to keep,

Strong in its ability to be there,

Its inability to stay.

A cheep cheep resting

In water’s deepest calm,

Dreaming dreams I could

Never dream of dreaming.

A grain of sand found

In the infinity of our oceans;

A memory, a fantasy, and a wish

Latticed into a riddle:

How can an 8-bit cluster of achromatic pixels,

Flickering 127 beats per minute—

A treasure glimmering as undeniably as gold—

Make you feel more animal than human?

I squeezed your hand, as tight

As my mistrust of questions

That change depending on the answer,

And saw that same rare light in your eyes.

More Remarkable Finds

deux nuages

By Jose Oseguera

A moment: there’s nothing more brief or revisited; enjoyable or painful; life-changing or damning. Moments are the kindle of dreams and nightmares.

By Catherine Moore

I am more than I seem. A jaw that does not fit. The thick femur that rubs this pelvis to an ache. A skull that can’t quit echoing in the chaos.

By Judith Skillman

Outside, the barber pole, a swirl of symbolic spirals, and walk upstairs, touching, as you go, the espagnolette.