Exposure Roger Camp __________ Morningbirds slicethe rain-splashedwings a window openson my bedmy hand slidesover the slicksill dripping sheet selecting a panestripped of its dustI witness an execution the trees undressedraked with hailthe wallsleaf splattered the room darkensI can not readmy watch ticksno comfort in its sound the stormsilences the streetunmans…
Read MoreIn the Temple Shadows Maudie Bryant __________ Like wheat in autumn,Beauty glows golden,its fleeting, gilded lieschipping like glassscattered along some beachno one dares to walk. I’ve shed that sorry skin—eyes cradled in longing, achingto see themselves mirrored,just to know how they feel.Now I’m all bone and stone,a hard heart pulsing,silent…
Read MoreLetter from the Guest Editor Vallie Lynn Watson __________ Blooms in Dusk, indeed! I write this a few hours after my last graduate workshop of the year, a beautiful one of hurrahs and goodbyes. My second year on the bayou has eclipsed the first, which I didn’t think possible. But…
Read MoreBaby Joseph Nathan Poole Shannon __________ Carter stepped out of his car for the funeral, wishing he’d bought an umbrella. It was grayand drizzling in the cemetery, the scent of snow in the air. He hated April funerals, it alwaysseemed like a bad trade- a life for the renewal of…
Read MoreNike of the Salish Sea Eros Salvatore __________ Kay had the look of a faerie princess found under a mushroom in the forest—a seemingly innocent, adorable young woman searching for love as she metamorphosed into adulthood. But like the famous Nike of Samothrace, Kay had lost her wings and could…
Read MoreGiant Pandas Eat Bamboo Rina Palumbo __________ You could hear the steady sound of chewing, the tearing, the chomping, the rhythmic circularmunching of the giant panda. You could hear the ripping, the tearing, the breaking of thebamboo: stems one by one, leaves one by one, new shoots in bunches. You…
Read MoreLetter from the Guest Editor Jade Turner __________ At five years old, my daughter first heard the phrase, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” and her response was, “But what if we don’t have any sugar?” Let’s face it: life isn’t always sweet. For some, the sun has…
Read MoreThe Sea of Trees Louise Palfreyman __________ Hiroki Oura believes he has been called to the holy mountain by its guardian spirit. He is waiting for a bus at Kawaguchiko station. Tinny music is playing from speakers tacked to the walls. It sets him on edge. This is not the…
Read MoreBent Twigs Kathryn Kulpa __________ The news might have come in the daily paper, but who read papers anymore? Maybe there was an announcement on the radio. A bullhorn buzz: THIS HAS BEEN ATEST OF THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM. HAD THIS BEEN AN ACTUAL EMERGENCY, YOU WOULD ALL BE DEAD…
Read MoreDark Academia Pooja Joshi __________ In March, I receive a letter from the dean, congratulating me on being the first woman admitted to the university’s coveted Biosonic Fragradation Cephalomechanics PhD program. Anyone would be lucky to start their academic career under the tutelage of Dr. Marsh. Like a diamond in…
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