Daniel Brennan the gift. the gift horse. the horse’s mouth. the rubber cut of tongue and sour steep of breath. the outstanding threat: never look. the troublesome desire to look. his tongue pressed...
Mary Simmons Yes. Yes. What else is there to say? There are no wolves in the forest. We killed them all and let our children beg. Meat in the sun, sweet enough. Basketfuls of hungry, hungry flies....
Giljoon Lee Which came first? The egg or the sperm. The apple or the throat. My throat closing in on itself. Umma putting sweet yuja tea to my lips. Saying, When the body is ill, the nectar...
Matthew Young Every night I cross a bridge. Every night I cross myself & ask to be forgiven for what I have & haven’t done. Father, Father, Father. My first confession was at eight...
Lizzy Ke Polishan peels. My father was a hoe and my mother was a rake. My brother, a fishbone; my sister, a crushed egg. I loved the dirt so much I turned it into my shoes. I loved...
Kate Kadleck Remember when we named ourselves after condiments? When you licked the lamppost in front of my house? I can’t, for the life of me, recall whether (and if so, for how long) your...
Raena Shirali -for Ariana Reines to touch the unfolding spiral i take my nightly seat at the cusp of fig. i see what i’m supposed to : shapes, innumerable, in which we find intimacy : cow,...
Tyler Michael Jacobs You will begin your great death into manhood. The corn will be picked and the alfalfa baled. The thick scent of pasture will no longer sore your eyes. The rain will turn cold and...
Elaina Edwards Bluestems tangled in the chainlink fence where a clay red coyote hung quietly. This is a warning, mom said, and I nodded. She was doing better. Adjusting to the harsh chemicals and...
Madie Barone “And there is, for me, no difference between writing a good poem and moving into sunlight against the body of a woman I love.” Audre Lorde the whole...