The Monster Speaks by Bob McAfee

Narrated by Bob McAfee

The Monster Speaks by Bob McAfee — Illustration by Sue Babcock

I am your electric Adam, you are my creator god
You sewed me in this motley jester’s suit
Awakened child of chemicals and lightning rod

Like yin and yang, like two peas in a troubled pod
We are forever joined together, man and brute
I am your electric Adam, you are my creator god

You say arise my son, I am imprinted and over-awed,
You are my curious father, I am your strangest fruit
Awakened child of chemicals and lightning rod

I cannot read you, hiding behind your scholarly facade
To garnish your attention I must grow astute
I am your electric Adam, you are my creator god

I am not a pretty man, vein-skinned and lantern-jawed
Eight feet tall and angry, a recalcitrant recruit
Awakened child of chemicals and lightning rod

As an experimental being I am sorely flawed
Unable to communicate, not dumb but mute
I am your electric Adam, you are my creator god
Awakened child of chemicals and lightning rod

BIO: Bob McAfee is a retired software consultant who lives with his wife near Boston.
It is a long way from math degrees (Rollins and Emory) and a computer science degree from UNC Chapel Hill to the person who has written over 700 poems in the last twenty-five years. For several years he made an hour train commute to and from Boston and developed the habit of writing in that fixed time. He continues to try to write two hours every day. He has recently published two books of verse and a book of limericks and nonsense rhymes. A fourth book is simmering on the burner, due out in early 2020. His style is eclectic, but his goal is producing poems with both fierceness and a reluctant sense of optimism.

Issue 52 is the ultimate issue of Liquid Imagination. John Arthur Miller (we called him Jam back then) had a dream, and made it a reality. He dreamed of Sophia, his muse, and how she would help him create a fusion of art and stories and poems and music. Sophia was on the cover of Issue 1, published online in the fall of 2008, and in memory of those days, she is on the cover of this last issue. For fourteen years she has kept Liquid Imagination in her heart, but now it is time for her to rest.

It’s been an unbelievable journey for me, and I have made so many friends. Of course, number one is Jam. And Karl Rademacher who helped me build my first website and made Silver Pen come alive. Kevin Wallis was Liquid Imagination’s first Senior Fiction Editor and what a great job he did! His selected stories embodied the vision of Liquid Imagination. John C. Mannone, our Senior Poetry Editor, has been a powerhouse, selecting poetry that is both beautiful to read, as well as thought provoking.

Brandon Rucker composed music for the site and was a poetry editor, and Bob Eccles was the voice of Liquid Imagination for many issues. Past poetry editors also included Sherri Ellerman and Chrissy Davis.

We had a series of highly talented fiction guest editors between 2014 to 2019, including AJ Brown, Samuel Barnhart, Perry McDaid, Maureen Bowden, Edwin Riddell, Gary Fields, and Shah Khan. Edwin Riddell moved on to be Senior Editor from 2019 until this very last issue.

And I cannot forget the hundreds of authors and poets and photographers and artists whose work we were honored to publish. I hope you will browse through the old issues and enjoy experiencing once again the wonderful variety of stories and poems published over the years.

For fourteen years we’ve read thousands of submissions, struggling to select the best ones to publish from all the great ones submitted. I sincerely thank all who made Liquid Imagination such a success, and a great joy for me. I’m very proud of the magazine and of all of the people who contributed in so many ways. I wish every one of you the best that life has to offer.

Signing off with a full heart
Sue Babcock
Publisher, Liquid Imagination