• “Bloodbath” by Aremu Adams Adebisi

        A meal is bought with blood, and then, chaos of hard clay. You linger in nudity, the night   is serrated in embarrassment; rusty mist, absence of flowers, a floodtide of dust & shadows.   Your eyes fall into the crevice of sound & quietude, an escape for boys who pray themselves  …

  • “How a Girl is Born Brutal” by Weslyn Rae Newburn

        I spent the summer pretending my legs were confined in a sheath of iridescent scales, swimming with eyes closed, nose pinched tightly shut. The burn of chlorine in my throat, greasy shine of sunscreen on my shoulders, cool juiciness of lemon yellow freezy-pops, that tasted nothing like real lemons. That summer my bitterness…

José Guadalupe Posada