After the Impact, Sarena Pollock Walking up to the house had been strange, perhaps even suspicious. The building was a two-story monument to the cotton-picking genocide of days supposedly gone…
All for One, Ella Van Haren “What’s something you like about yourself?” My counselor sat across from me in her office, leaning in so far her brunette bob pitched into…
Pins and Needles, Kamron Williams In 1987, my mommy and papi met through God. My mommy was seventeen, spreading the love of Jesus Christ in Chapopote, a remote village on the…
Illuminated, Ava Fojtik In the summer, I would sit on my porch under the cherry tree in my backyard, as my grandmother and mother tried to tame my hair with…
Warped, Rachel Donohue my mother never made me blackberry pie, she wanted me to know how to make it myself, so that i could quench my own thirst as i…
The Grass is Never Greener, Vinnie Hagar Mom used to tell me kindness is always the answer. At my Lutheran Elementary school we used to watch videos of starving children in…
ano nakikita Mo?, harana 1948 Scientist Alfred Kinsey concludes that 37% of men have enjoyed homosexual activities at least once. 2002 – 54 years later – In the third grade,…
Defense Mechanism 3, Elizabeth Ellenwood I don’t remember being asked. I don’t remember even being told. I just woke up aboard this train, so far from home. And I’m afraid…
Two Rivers Meet, Rebecca Turnbull Maná booms from the CD player, making the walls quake and water drip from the showerhead. Mom throws the towel over my head, drying my…
Flickering Strings of Love, Paul Knight I love you the most watching you get pushed around in a crowd of people while a band plays— Your hair glued to your…
Element of Speech, Bethany Dudek Day 1, February 1999 First observation of symptoms. Subject is a Caucasian male, 3 years old as of today (February 20th), outwardly healthy, one younger…
Nature Administers a Rorschach Test, Margaret May 1 I pull my voice recorder out of my pocket, and press the red button. “Hi, mom,” I whisper, not wanting to disturb…
Warped, Rachel Donohue When the distance between the bottom of the steps and the edge of her bed was too far for her to travel, I made the journey happily and…
Say a Prayer, Mikaela Rae Antoigue In 2016, my grandparents’ dog died. He was an old dog, covered with warts, and they had to put him down due…
Shadows, Amanda Wisbeck Hey Tray, I know we’ve never talked, but I needed to reach out to someone. Someone that could understand what I’m feeling right now, what I’m going…
Grandma’s Cupcake Stand, Jessica Ashworth Mom and I built a planter box in the spot where the oak tree used to be, before it was killed by Tussock Moths. We…
Untitled, Elise Ketch Matthew The vaulted ceiling of early morning and hemlock canopy float around you like a vulture. I can see your fjord-blue eyes from this bird’s eye view.…
Wrung Out, Kaitlyn Kugler It is my thirteenth birthday. At the lunch table I sit facing my friends with a ten calorie bite of vanilla…
Talking Dead, Amanda Stephen As a child, one of her favourite games had been holding her breath. This usually took place in the bathtub, still big enough to…
Do You See Me?, Hannah Elizabeth High your footfall drops on the cement outside where I wait sound echoes my heartbeat matches your step stepped in the way…
Junglescape, Meagan Dwyer You wake up. You don’t know how long you’ve slept, but it’s time to get ready for school. Oddly enough, you rolled over onto…
Self-Portrait, Thomas Vause When you wake up, you will weigh yourself one, two, three times for safe measure. 95.0 lbs, 94.6 lbs, 94.8 lbs. Fat, fat, obnoxiously…