Issue 4
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By HJ Dutton This piece has been selected by our editors to be nominated for theĀ 2027 Pushcart Prize. āAre we gonna see the statue?ā Alphie shouted over the airboatās roar. āYessir,ā grinned the tour guide. āNot much left of Raginā Rachel nowadays. Saltwater really did a number on her. But sheās down there.ā Kelsey blew…
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By Mahailey Oliver Pisces š¤ | Capricorn ā¾ | Pisces ā My first nameās from my great grandma,my middle nameās from my mom,my last nameās from my dadĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Aināt a single partĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā of me thatās mine. I recline into the cattailsand switchgrass. Cracked knucklesfeel the burn of the sun,slick sweat sliding from clammy palmsto ruddy earth underneath.…
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By Bella Melardi Is it better to cup the burning, to wake each morning already ash-tongued, waiting for the hour your body dimly constellates itself into ruin, a graveyard flickering with small, exhausted suns, or is it better to carry nothing, hands rinsed clean of wanting? I have wanted to etch something into the world…
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By David Williamson Virgo š¤ | Virgo ā¾ | Capricorn ā i cradle my thumb, it was jammed betweena softball and the afternoon glare.your sorryās and sunraysstill throb with the bruise. you apologize, not for your aim,but for love poems whisperedin fleeting glances, for too fewcootie catchers and origami hearts,for sunset gossip unableto set the…
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By Tracey Workman They appeared without warning. The memories. At least, I thought they were memories. They could have been hallucinations, and every time one snuck up on me, I briefly wondered whether someone had slipped LSD into my coffee. The images that appeared were bright and thick in my mind, and they were heavy.…
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By Kaylee Baucom Virgo š¤ | Sagittarius ā¾ | Aries ā āIāll eat you up beloved, Iāll swallow you whole,youāre the moon, and Iām the dark sky who holds.āHe talks in verses like this,all honey-tongued promises but no kiss,and Iām alone for another monumental solar eclipse.But heās the moon and Iām the sun.I always shine…
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By Cassandra Whitaker What good is celebration without flowers?summer addresses gardeniaāyarrowāliliesālavenderālilacāheliotropeāheatherāthe air cures our appetitesuntil the feast ā Then alesāroastsācakesāvices Summerās hidden addresses Buttered breadāspiced meatāwhipped milk-ācream Beyond the brideā her wife groom to beāa king for the dayin lavenderālilacāsuited to the nines and crownedwith eucalyptus blooms ready to leadwith sure feetāWhat good is celebrationwithout…
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By Zachary Walter Cancer š¤ | Capricorn ā¾ | Sagittarius ā Father, I plan to fly. When you find this little lettertucked beneath your wingswax-molded to your back, just try.Understand. Iāve tried to tell youthat Iāll fly as I wish You merely grunted.Your work deafens. So, read. I imagine you searching the sky,combing the waves,…
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By Hilary Levinson Virgo š¤ | Aquarius ā¾ | Scorpio ā Lake Michigan, June 21, 2003 Sand and inky darkness,memory, still light. The dark ebbs, and I see usa blanket on the sandsilhouettes against the rising sun. This will be the first of many, but for yearsand even now,it will be this moment I think…
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By Stephen Jackson Cancer š¤ | Gemini ā¾ | Aquarius ā Spotting a blanket of blackberries hanging down from asingle cloud, I crave the taste of their sweet black warmthin my mouth, though a callous Maker has draped it much too high, situated my feet a cruel distance from my eyesso, even on tiptoes, I…