The Tourist by Mark Tulin

I look for strange memories 

to bring home to friends, 

buildings as high as Sequoias, 

people as odd as Martians 

I am always prepared to walk, 

my laces tied in a bow knot 

on my brown hiking shoes, 

bottled water in my backpack, 

my camera ready to take pictures 

of funny billboards or signs 

and strange names 

for seafood restaurants 

I bring an extra sweater 

just in case the weather changes 

and a tiny umbrella 

if the rain happens to fall 

I grab the front seat 

on the tour bus, 

hold tightly to the rail, 

and ask the driver questions 

that he’s answered before. 

Mark Tulin is a former psychotherapist who lives in California. He has two poetry books, Magical Yogis and Awkward Grace. The Asthmatic Kid and Other Stories available at Madville Publishing. He’s been featured in Still Point Journal, The Writing Disorder, New Readers Magazine, among others.  Mark’s website is Crow On The Wire.

Normal by Mark Tulin

Normal is safe 

but boring to others

like a slow-cooker of death;

normal is insidious, 

roots itself in routine

and its 9 to 5 redundancy.

It wears dark suits

and plain, solid-colored dresses.

It is highly appropriate,

walks with a precise gait,

picks up its trash,

pleases its neighbors,

and never does anything spontaneous

without a hint of distemper.

And before you realize it, 

your normal body is glowing

in the hereafter,

right next to Aunt Harriet 

and Uncle Richard,

piled high in the tombstones

of meaningless dedication.

Mark Tulin is a former therapist who lives in California.  He has a chapbook, Magical Yogis, and two upcoming books: Awkward Grace, and The Asthmatic Kid and Other Stories. He’s been featured in Fiction on the Web, Ariel Chart, Amethyst Magazine, among others.  His website is Crow On The Wire.