by Karen Mandell The heavy-duty plastic crackledas I shifted my weight on the couch.Straight ahead, in front of the window,a fake lemon tree pretended to need the sun.A soon to be ex-boyfriend snickeredwhen he saw it. I agreed with himbut hated his condescension. I wasn’t upfor analysis but loved the…
by Marie Soffy Saint Fort Dancing over the edge of a cliff,cliff of a deep, deep oceanon a busy summer day,where surfboards and waves crashing.Peacefully crashing ashoreinto beautiful lullabies in our eardrums.That’s what my trauma sounds like. Sweet howling of the branchesas they move their hips side by side;while their…
by Quiarah Butler Manga and Anime convention goerthe age of knowledge grows on me and feedsmy soul, my energy, my mind, the part of methat says “this isn’t blackness; this isn’t cool”but in this new age of Black-awareness, it’s growing on me Gothic aesthetics and music shape my foregroundI’m not…
by George Freek I stare at my unmade bed.Outside, a chilling breezerustles the dead leaves,as if they were feathers.The moon is a ball of lead.I gaze at distant stars,lost in the infinite sky,as if they hadnowhere to abide.A torn shirt, hanging froma tree, waves in the breeze,like an abandoned flag,now…
by Nancy Machlis Rechtman She feels her way through the dappled landscapeCradling the memories of a time when it was filled with lightAnd hopeAnd dreamsInstead of this endless echo chamberOf lonelinessWhere she now resides. The sun has yielded to the moon’s prowessSinking slowly across the Western skyBut this is no…
by Nancy Machlis Rechtman He told me that my eyesWere stars twinkling in the nightAnd when he kissed me he murmuredThat my lips were the sweet petals of roses. My heart became the flutterOf birds’ wings soaring through the treesAnd his wordsWere the silky balm on my wounded soul. “Your…
by Lisa M. Gott Heavy clouds creep acrossforgotten lands — a storm is coming,blowing the tumble weedsof my own destructionacross the never-ending fieldsof a place once called home. Parched, the soil cries out,O, clouds, rain down on me,wash away this decay so that blades of glory may rise up and reachtoward possibility. Blackness circles — a…
by Lisa M. Gott Dried tendrils of overgrown grasssing out into the wind — We have a story to tell. Tucked beneath their blanket,spotted earth painted with blood and tears;droplets of dew encase secretsof battered and bruised indentionsfrom heavy steps scarring soil,but like a seashell, their cries remain;head to earth,…
By Keith Burton i was stretching my legs on the littoralgiving names to the shapes of the cloudsthat swam across the lake’s reflectionwhen trouble came crawling on eight legs. help me across he asked with a period. i knew better; i had an owl’s acuity.no can do, i know you…
By Maggie Kennedy For Alex You and I pick one by onethe wet stones glittering the shore,greedily pocketing the shine,until our shorts bulgelike hamster cheeks,and we walk bow-leggedto the car, turning every fewfeet to look back at the lake as if her shifting moods couldnot be summoned at will, as…