Helen Gwyn Jones (she/her) started recording her world at the age of 8 when she bought a Brownie camera from her sister, something which has become a lifelong passion.  A collector of the past (hers and other people’s) she likes nothing better than muted images of imperfection.  May be found poring over Welsh grammar books […]

Tired of Being Caught in the Tangle of Their Lives asks: How do I leave a group chat that I’ve been in for years?  I have this non-local friend group, and while we used to hang out IRL pre-pandemic, I now want out of their daily bullshit. Can I just, like, do that? My one […]

The Time-Traveler’s Observation Journal (20th Century, pt. II) [1945] Striped snails tightropeover the bombarded ruins of Dresdentheir slime dripping down the taut wire,lost in billowing smoke,sizzling as it hits scorched ground.  [1977] A skeletal unicorn of articulated bonestrots into the neon wilderness of Studio 54. The club kids pause their gyrating dances to watch the rider in the black […]

Having fit my day job into a readymade obituary I’m ready to talk about heaven. Shufflingrecipe cards from the bottom of the deck, I come across green chiles and a common knife. Icomb the couch for coins from other countries, clothes I never wore, folded on my lap.Father whistled Sinatra with the window down as […]

Spicy Species asks: I have a few acquaintances who have “therian” or “kinnie” in their Twitter bios. Their tweets seem normal, though they read like roleplay at times. I’ve tried to learn more about these terms, but I’m confused about their nuances. What’s the difference? Are they LARPing? Are they furries? Is it rude to […]

body study fora bad dayleg leg legtwo black blundstonesgray calf socksno breaks noskin no bodyno headme as i was and or amcan be shoulder shouldershoulder more than twotattoos shouldbody me will younot take mehow i am sterling-elizabeth arcadia (she/they) is a trans poet and lover of birds. Her work has been published in HAD, poetry.onl, […]

My poems keep starting with Onceas if the past is something else. Look: Once, we put our handsin front of lips to keep the kissfrom counting— to keep the branchfrom blooming, to keep adultsaway. And thenwhatever we werewas over [as ifwhateverwe areis over]. Say you see me in museumsand knowing that museums make me tiredyou […]

Sad Follower of Cool Trans Twitter asks: Though I follow many cool people with great politics on Twitter, something has been bothering me: certain forms of bigotry don’t receive as much pushback as others. While it’s a good thing that racism and nonbinary TERFs get called out, everyone seems to look away when their friends […]

I got a cigar-serenade voice that is perfectfor telling the babies good night becausethey fall right to sleep after. One would thinkit’s coming from a man with a Glasgow smile.You’ve got a voice that’s perfect for the porch.I mean rocking in chairs singing old country songs.The trees that had been blocking our view fellduring the […]

Relationships are complex; platonic, familial, or romantic. They’re just weirdsometimes. There’s so much to know about a single other being, let alone learningyourself and how to expose that to the world in the way you feel in your own skin. It ispossible, it’s too difficult, or…well just damn near impossible to truly communicate theself to […]