Issue 4

  • S. Clark, Species

    Sarah CR Clark 120 + 1 species of Sepiida  When the end comesyou can have my standard-issue space suitI would rather refashion my skininto a cuttlefish here at homeadapting at the speed of thoughtNOW red with bumps to blend into coralNOW pulse black and white to hypnotizeI will glide through the turquoise sea not the…

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  • E. Murphy, Between Symptom

    Erin Murphy Between Symptom and Diagnosis Landscape of chronic fog and mist,ellipses linking what was and what is. Miners straining to hear a rescue team,tan line from a wedding ring. A baton mid-toss, an arrhythmic dance, a song bleeding from a prison cell. How when you try not to think of something, you think of…

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  • M. Eleftherion, Wanderer

    Melisa Eleftherion Wanderer of the Wasteland Melissa Eleftherion (she/they) is a writer, a librarian, & a visual artist. Born & raised in Brooklyn, they are the author of three poetry collections including gutter rainbows (Querencia Press, 2024) & 12 chapbooks. Melissa lives in Northern California where she served as Poet Laureate for the City of…

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  • M. Carr, Silence is

    Melisa Eleftherion Silence is a Girl Shaped Melissa Eleftherion (she/they) is a writer, a librarian, & a visual artist. Born & raised in Brooklyn, they are the author of three poetry collections including gutter rainbows (Querencia Press, 2024) & 12 chapbooks. Melissa lives in Northern California where she served as Poet Laureate for the City…

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  • M. Michelle Bovée Stange, Exercises

    Michelle Bovée Stange Exercises for living i.Look at the moonFold the distance between you like a fanHold her gently and give her to someone you loveRemember the feeling of her cratersii.Breathe in the shape of a circleSmooth it into a stoneSkip it over the water and watch it sinkInhaleiii.Fold your heart into a paper airplaneThrow…

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  • A. Dribben, Spotted

    Angela Dribben Spotted Touch Me Not Each flower hangsas an opulent orange mouth tangerine tongue lip-draped red spots ride the lickAs husks maturethe lightest touch expels their seedsDehiscence—the splitting or bursting open of a bur or woundSometimes the lightest touch is love Sometimes our armor must split open Angela Dribben is an astrologer and writer…

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  • H. Gray, It’s Like That

    Hannah Jacqueline Gray it’s like that moment on a swing it’s like that moment on a swing,reaching the highest point,that feeling in your stomach whereyou feel suspended in the stale air,about to fall and crumple to the ground,a body on the concrete.that inky blackness—but somethinginnocuous—a sort of weight pressing against you.or maybe it’s coming from…

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  • E. Murphy, Rhododendron

    Erin Murphy Rhododendron I want a rhododendron, its waxy evergreen leaves, its bursts of purple in early spring. NoI want to be a rhododendron, sprawling yet hardy, a woman who sits on the bed’s edge and leans into your story while massaging lotion into her tapered arms and legs. Or maybe I want the word…

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  • L. Ayers, No One

    Lana Hechtman Ayers No One Told Me All summer I was on edge.Grass dried to dust.Johnny jump ups supine by noon.Bees creaking along.Butterflies asleep in the yarrow.Our dog burying himself beneath hostas.My brother fried an egg on the hood of Dad’s Pontiac.He only had to try it once.Apocalyptic ripples of heat waves like bad omens.Wind…

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  • A. Burris, Bibliophile

    Allison Burris Bibliophile I could have fallen in love with books for the sound alone,the crackle of a spine, the whisper of my thumb along the edge,volumes could be written about the turning of a single page,or that thrum, flapping paper wobbles when you shakethe binding. The flicker of flipping through pages, never quite like…

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