The Glass Eater by Mark Tulin

She ate glass

to liberate herself

from the discomfort in her belly

and the brokenness of her heart

She specialized in fine crystals

and colored glass from cathedral windows

and ate vanity mirrors for good luck

Her many followers held white candles

outside her kitchen window,

waiting for a miracle

with each piece of glass, she chewed

She believed she was a sweet,

fiery messenger

who purified troubled spirits,

and cleansed the world’s pain

with pointed shards of glass

“My body is a vessel,” she said,

“a channel from this world to the next,

through which everything is possible–

So the guilty could be redeemed.”

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Mark Tulin is a former family therapist from Philadelphia who lives in Santa Barbara, California. A poetry publisher once likened his work to artist, Edward Hopper, on how he grasps unusual aspects of people and their lives. Mark has two poetry collections, Magical Yogis and Awkward Grace available at Amazon, and an upcoming book, The Asthmatic Kid and Other Stories. Mark has been featured in Vita Brevis, Amethyst Review, Poppy Road Review, Oddball Magazine, Tremble With Fear, as well as anthologies, college journals, and podcasts.  You can follow Mark at Crow On The Wire. You can keep up to date with Mark on his website http://www.crowonthewire.com and social media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Crow_writer Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/crowonthewire_poetry/

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Photo by Robert Ferrier. Robert is a retired university research administrator living in Norman. He has published novels and photography. His poems have appeared in Oklahoma Today, Blood & Thunder, Crosstimbers, Westview, Mid-America Poetry Review, The Exhibitionist, Walt’s Corner of the Long Islander, and Red River Review. He was nominated for Poet Laureate of Oklahoma in 2007 by the Norman Galaxy of Writers. Visit Robert’s author page http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorid=833