Unland, Unlife
by Mike & Anita Allen

They've never found the bodies out at sea
but every day they wash up on our shore,
dressed in shirts and shifts or even gowns,
both hands, left feet punched through with
wounds that never heal or bleed.

Left untouched in the water, they'll wake up,
walk inland, build lives, towns, even ships
for hunting answers on a sea that never yields.
For when these immigrants ask where, how, why,
we shrug and rub our own bloodless stigmata.

Mike Allen works as the arts and culture columnist for the daily newspaper in Roanoke, Va., where he lives with his wife Anita, a goofy dog, and two mischievous cats. In his spare time he does a ridiculous number of things, including editing the critically-acclaimed anthology series Clockwork Phoenix and the long-running poetry journal Mythic Delirium. His own poetry has won the Rhysling Award three times, and his fiction has been nominated for the Nebula Award. He's also active in local improv theater, where he's often asked to provide the voice of an Ominous Narrator or play the part of Satan.