Do You See It, Mommy?, Hannah Elizabeth High PICTURE IT: In the dark parking garage at the Towson mall, bottom floor, standing by the elevator at 10:32 PM, a girl checking her phone. Battery nearly dead. The girl petite, slender, cute…
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. You look up at me- a splayed and pinned Vitruvian…
Self-Hatred, Logan Sullivan 1. I learned how to braid. The YouTube tutorial was awful,And I ripped out most of your mom’s hair.2. The ballet recital you were rehearsing for,I learned the whole dance.3. Yes, the coffee mug you broke was…
To Warm A Bed – Iambus, Louie-Paulo Darang Little iguana basking in the sun That iguana has never filed taxes Probably because it can’t read I hope that it doesn’t get arrested About the Author Wilson Haworth · Guilford College…
Perch, Victoria Barry Fluorescents shoeshine my Shop Local badge. My shoulder tote sags fair trade coffee bags. Here I think of all that is super: the man, the ego, this store, this man these chocolate raisin samples I halfheartedly resist,…
A Better World is Possible, Ernest Volynec Every night, as the star had risen The thought of escape would cross We divulged our truths and hearkened their lies Over pain that would never leave and freedom that…
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 cake marinating on my tongue. Amylase is breaking down the…
Tomato Menace and Floral Rabbit, Jury St. Judge Nothing’s a secret once you know about it. The jewel beetles became a regularity in the kitchen. The first was the color of a geode’s guts,…
Untitled, Zachary Vaughn My walk home would be pleasant—would be rather beautiful, really, with the sunset turning the sky all sorts of colors—if it weren’t for the damned bells ringing from the town hall. They only ring for six minutes—from…
The Sound of Silence (Austria), Taylor Hedge Sit in the back like a good Catholic and watch the priest in white robes raise his arms to welcome the sinners: the drunks, the men who beat their wives purple and red…
Dripping, Eric Fram There are splats of blood on the mat already. My left eye drips warm blood, much to the interest of Doc, who weaves skin to skin. Then, a simple ringing not in my ear. A shove from…
Junglescape, Meagan Dwyer The arrhythmic pulse of jazz makes my back arch as I strike a match against the curved edge of your jaw; the thought of you is like stepping outside after a movie when the…
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 swallow her whole. She would let the warm water relax…
Beauty and Power, Jini Park If I had known it was Julie calling my name across the fluorescence of the supermarket, I wouldn’t have turned around. “Maurine,” the voice called, again. I turned and saw her waddling…
Self-Portrait, Thomas Vause The man I love says there is no God. With lips that could bring the Devil to his knees And a voice that could carve the Red Sea. And me? And me wishing I…
Still Air, Shareefah Pereira After Vladimir Nabokov and his second greatest love affair | For Ms. K You’re forty-two years old and you don’t know how you got here. It’s 1:16 the morning of your own execution,…
Sweet Dreams, Hannah Elizabeth High Sit on the floor in the middle of the basement. It’s your very own play area, which makes it the greatest place. Spending enough hours down there makes you unaware of the…
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 I remember from those old films and the lover was…
Mule, Michael Cabezas Aged in the enclosed paddock, bald-faced and balking, face devoured with botflies, slab-sided, shivers running over the flank. Unsound. Blows harsh air from flared nostrils, one hoof raised, longing for action in his steady…
