When she calls, tell her to gather her clothes. Put the blankets in a paper bag. Don’t touch anything of stonewashed blue. Don’t pluck leaves from her hair or tug at threads. The sleeve may fall. Don’t brush soil from her shoulder Don’t give her a drink of water just yet it could […]
Poetry 102
Stella Reed: I won’t speak to you like I spoke before
In lieu of language I give you my hands to make this poem urgent. Beware, I sign. Stay alive. Here there is no night only the adjacent dark, the proximity of our breath. Despite what I said, I have made mistakes. I chose the wrong book from the ruins its spine turned […]
Stella Reed: I once believed my body
was a descendant of trees my foremothers the branches that bore my blossoming weight my forefathers birds that scattered seed where water was a dream where they rowed with my breath in their mouth on the shore a stag one antler branching the sky the absence of the other a memory. My […]
Esther Ra: the liquid truth
my friend once said, if there was a button to destroy the whole world, i’d push it if i’d still have wifi. & yet, he is capable of such kindness, has cupped my name in his palm for five years. it’s so hard to say i love you to the people who matter, we prefer […]
Kay Peters: The Time I Failed
I have forgotten his name but see his hand blue knotted veins paper skin. He reached from his bed grasped my wrist asked Am I dying? I could not speak. His fear was mine.
William Palmer: He Pours a Small Glass of Milk
Scrolls down. Two young women take off their clothes but keep on their stilettos. They kiss but don’t mean it. He can tell. He sees the curve of red scars under one girl’s breasts. They take turns bobbing between each other’s legs. He doesn’t know why he watches. God, he and Betty used to swell […]