John Farrell Kelly A melody emerges in the darkness. My spirit slowly surfaces, and my mind gently moves and stretches. I quietly state, “Siri, stop.” I open my eyes, turn to my side, and tap my...
Denise Magloire The sound of drops crashing against the window fills the room until they are masked by the cries of a newborn. His lungs fill up with air, his fists tightly clenched, and his eyes...
Cole Pragides At dawn, my grandfather’s eyes are enveloped in silver mist. Burning atmospheres as he looks around his backyard of small effigies. Around us: dented tins, scarred lacquer, gouged wax...
Alexandra Clemente Perez Carola looks through the windshield of her golden Corolla. There is a green Chevy pick-up staring straight at her. My mother Carola, my husband, and I are on one end; our...
Nafisa Nazir A lifetime of broken plates and bruised knuckles will chase you out of your cradle before the typhoon does. I don’t remember the day I left well, only all that came after. I remember...
Julia Talen Julia Kooi Talen is an essayist and poet based in the midwest where she teaches creative writing and composition. Currently a PhD candidate in creative writing, Talen lives with their...
Annabel Li On the dirt-beige sofa, Dad lies across the crooks of cushions like an em-dash, surrounded by a Jenga of student theses and chemical engineering textbooks, a royal blue cookie tin holding...
J. L. Bermúdez Always at the same time, the green van with yellow letters. A man, tall and dark, hair parted like a curtain. A cigarette in his hand. I can’t recall if he is handsome, or just...
Erik Moyer I am born. I’m not thrilled about it. Two weeks overdue and another twenty hours of crimson labor later, I am at last evicted from the womb, a whopping ten-pounder. My mother is whisked...
Megan Eralie-Henriques Look closely at my hands. Notice how I’ve shredded the skin around my jagged nails. Look closer. See my fingernails picking at wounds, scarcely able to scab over. Bleeding,...
