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“Anhedonis, Anhedonia” by Aïcha Martine
` I am tired of worrying my youth away, I am tired of being worried, I am tired You want to hold on to it, that certain lightness of being You said child, child: once it goes, never comes your way again ` Simone says “ain’t nobody perfect ’cause ain’t nobody free” Couldn’t be […]
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“KEY” by Raymond Gibson
I. shards of a mirror floating downriver the future is a desert you have only what you bring with you I’ll give you one where ice is worth diamonds and honey worth more money is no good here the brazen serpent of the dollar sign has locked upon its tail and greed boundless eats the […]
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“ouroboros” and “we take after one another” by Alexis Diano Sikorski
ouroboros i am reborn again &again my toes crawl up to my eyes& plunge fractals apart i am a snake eating its own tail i am eve saying yes and fucking herself silly on her fingers sibilance cries make me whole again, whole again w/ pupils blown — coming full circle . hypnotize, hypno […]
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“If you’re happy and you know it” by Nicholas Alti
grow more hands if you’re happy and you know it become a monstrosity If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it give me the skeleton of everything that’s gone extinct give me the fossil of optimism If you need water or will wilt and you know […]
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“ligament (loose triptych)” by Lianna Schreiber
Artist Statement Somewhere between a poem and an internal monologue, “loose triptych” is a contemplation of life, life beyond life, and the meaning in it all. (“What is a legacy?” “Planting seeds in a garden you will never see in full bloom”, to paraphrase; but also to cite a late night conversation, “Before […]
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THE SNAKE BRIDE
When I came into myself, again Yet another awkward re-awakening of this body I saw an imprisoned cage of where a young woman was residing, It was right behind my Mother’sss eyesss A tiny fire lit between the iris of two gazing hazel stonesss One of yearning Death and one of burning Honor Where ssshe […]
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“A Clove Scented Winter” by Zeny May Dy Recidoro
83. To Make Poor Paper not Flow When You Write on it. Dip the paper in alum water. I, Hohman, will hereafter pour a little water on the alum and moisten the paper. Then I will see whether one can write on it. From “The Long Hidden Friend”, Journal of American Folk-lore (1904) […]
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“another self-deprecating joke about my criminal record” and “Why Quit When You Can’t?” by Nicholas Alti
Nicholas Alti writes with and about trigeminal neuralgia, depression, addiction, and an affinity for strangeness. He’s an assistant editor for fiction and poetry at The Black Warrior Review. There’s more of his work at Dream Pop Press, Hypertrophic Press, The Hunger, Pretty Owl Poetry, and elsewhere.
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“Landslide” by Amanda McLeod
rules caught in the landslide swept away in madness and diamond filled rocks reason is an unmarked map the unfamiliar wild envelops me I am lost in chaos theory there is no light on the windowsill to guide me home I will not be entombed in this bottomless dark […]
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“It’s All Happening at the Zoo” by Amy Soricelli
How odd to be him, here in this place of fierce thoughts and solid fur. All the best games in the sun, the cold windy bars keeping us tight from one another. She says “look up” I see long necks with spotted long lashes eating from trees. Bears with paws settling down into the pounce […]
TERSE. Journal : fears. futures. phantasmagorical. funsized. 