Devil’s Claw, Victoria Barry that’s jagged and circular like a small stone severed from a larger rock The dried blood cavernous and sharp Pussing from the eye of the sore It stings itches begging me to pick at it Peel…
Holy, Nia Owen When Mother contracted the virus, she had a villa built in Sabratha, Libya, where Roman ruins and human bones lay desolate by the sea. Her doctor estimated that the virus would lie dormant in her…
Smooch, Cassandra Warner Grandma was squatting on a low stool in the stuffy bathroom, lit only with a window open to the traffic below and reeking of blood splashed over the tiles. In between her legs was a…
Beach, Jacob Roosa i. tightly spun egyptian cotton, imported of course, wraps up your wet body like it did for pharaohs. you picture kings who lounged about in silken kimonos watching the bronzed laymen selling their city’s…
Untitled, Zachary Vaughn Five o’clock shadows cast down their doubting eyes. They turn my wall – a hapless host to a lone Light Bulb – gray. My sea-glassy-eyed window vets each immigrant sunbeam who asks to…
H2O, Erin Lee You must have stared at your reflection for an hour before the choice was made. Your eyes followed up the slope of your nose to your eyebrows and the jet black hairs subtly connecting them. It was…
Interlocked, Roma Parikh Everyone I want to love is knuckle-distance away on a map the size of my hand. We are fingertips on opposite sides of glass, telephonic voices in adjacent time zones— it’s all too far for me.…
Small House Near Nowhere, Emily Hill Friday, Kristin cuts vegetables into finer things, searches the weekly chicken like a dead body. The bones are boiling away for soup— six o’clock and the house is Catholic for the day.…
Untitled #2, Karl Rivera [Trigger Warning: Mentions of pedophilia] Mr. Walker didn’t give us a warning or indication of any kind when he decided to become a nudist. I had pulled into my driveway after a long day at the lab…
Wish You Were Here, Nia Owen After Rainer Maria Rilke Sometimes a claims adjuster stands up during an HR meeting and walks out of the office, drives away and keeps on driving, because of a glacial tarn somewhere in…
The Not-So Virgin Mary, Julia Broeker First, make sure you’ve tried every possible method. Peer at Jenn’s list, an inventory of conception tricks longer than a wedding DJ’s playlist. Drink less caffeine. Check. Eat more fish. Check. Lay flat with…
War is Over, by Ernest Volynec For what we knew to be our second date We went to go see some spoken word poet the campus had brought in. For the most part, she talked about the female experience…
The Funnies, Justine Newman My father drank orange juice with extra pulp. I never cared for the texture, but it was the closest we could afford to fresh squeezed. In those days, he owned an auto repair shop. He opened late…
A New World of Light, Jacob Fisher As the lights dim and the curtains open, my heart beats its own symphony. I realize I am trapped. The only two seats left when we arrived were in the middle…
Emerge, Meagan Dwyer [Trigger Warning: Graphic discussion of suicidal ideation and self harm] When I was seventeen, I wanted to die. There was something terrifying about it, more terrifying than the depression or the self-harm, something about wanting to end everything…
