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To M.W.
by Gabriella Garofalo A motionless warm airOld haggards stuck in food and ailmentsFlyers taped on the light poles, showing mislaid kitten-Your die hard habits, October, you old maverickDon’t we know your elegant gaslightingHas form and attitude, much to the chagrin of the waves Who never look smartHard as they tryOf a light you keep stalking…
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Ocean of Sorrows
Audra Burwell is a creative writing major with a strong emphasis on fantasy-themed poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that covers universal subject matter. Her work has been published by Palaver Journal, Deep Overstock, Carcinogenic Poetry, Snapdragon Journal, Serpentine Zine Literary Magazine, and Superpresent Magazine, as well as appearing on the Do Fiction Podcast.
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Sirens
by Michael Steffen The woman you wake to with sudden intensityis certain you’re guilty of something,but she’s not sure what—your dream already folded its tent,though, still, you taste some salty desire.There are spaces in a marriageno number of long-stemmed roses can fill,where trust is a tactic, tenderness a tease, the sex—a little too much like…
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Not
I cannot write/ Do you understand what I’m saying?/ I cannot bear to write/ Is today/ Is my wife/ Dead and gone?/ Yes, she is…/ Marc Isaac Potter does not have a dog named Wilbur
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Family Reunion
John Califano lives in the once vibrant and culturally stimulating City of New York where he contemplates his existence, and works helping at-risk parolees transition back into the workforce. He’s worked as a writer, actor, visual artist, and musician. His work is featured in The Broadkill Review, The Willesden Herald’s New Short Stories Series (UK),…
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Natalie
by Keana Aguila Labra Natalie reminds me of a song that should have been longer, that’s how good it is. The reader is immediately sucked into Keana’s heavy imagery and meticulous style of words as she expresses her love and heartbreak. This is a walk down memory lane you’d want to take while learning to…
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Cold Room
by Jide Badmus It’s a rainy morning.The earth breathescold on its citizens.I reach for a blanket offlesh that is unavailable. The room is filledwith pieces of you—strands of hair,vestige of scent,mirage of smile &a ghost of your voice.There is a depressionon your side of the bed—but these walls struggleto reconstruct memories.The mirror claims not torecall…
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Whiskey Jail
by Joseph Rogers Through these wooden bars I see a scene enacted without me: joy painted across your face; an understudy in my rightful place. This vinyl booth becomes my jail, a prison of whiskey with shots for bail, while red searchlights illuminate the empty glasses that spell my fate. We spoke until the sun…
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Three Poems
by Rae Rozman Dualities I slept with your glove(maroon, leather)woven between my fingers.It smelled like you. I awoke with your glove(leather, maroon)pressed against my naked chest.It smelled like me. How quickly you leave me.How quickly we forget. Consummation There are nights like this.Nights you rush through to seeif colors are more vibranton the other sideSolitude…
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Two Native Tongues
by Taleen Mardirossian My tongue belongs to two lovers. I spend my days with one, my nights with the other. One is older, much older, much wiser. He’s had fewer lovers, so I am careful not to lose him. I wear his poetry on my lips, his dances in my feet. He’s a wanderer, a traveler–…