by Kurt Newton

They met at a terrorist training camp.
He wanted to own an espresso stand,
she wanted to design full-figured burqas.
But they both gave it up for Jihad.

Late nights behind the obstacle course,
quoting passages from the Quran . . .
the smell of gunpowder and the taste of curry;
a little slice of heaven in the sand thanks to Allah.

But they were doomed from the very start.
While he drove a pickup into a police station,
she drove a sedan into a crowded outdoor market.
They were an explosive pair.

Kurt Newton has been writing poetry since the 5th grade when he passed around his first poem titled “Koala Bear Underwear” to unsuspecting classmates. Their laughter was all the positive reinforcement Kurt needed to continue down the road to poetic poverty. Kurt’s poetry and micro fiction can be found in recent issues of Vine Leaves, Leodegraunce, 1of25, brickplight, Dance Macabre, and in Issue 2 of Empty Sink Publishing.