Versatile Villanelle & Sizzling Villanelle Dustin Brookshire __________ Versatile Villanelle Topping is not for the grieving, for those who need to be filled up and forget their own emptiness. – Joseph Osmundson, “Double or Nothing” Topping isn’t for those in the midst of grief.Don’t have a pity party and sit…
Read MoreRicegay Joefel Bolo __________ So my parents are farmers. They carry the rice, roughly as producer, then us who consume. Seeing, to feel the dirt talking. Notice and virgin, rice husk, extract the rice from its golden shell and itchiness. I consumed cups, or in another strange distance, a scope…
Read MoreI Stop Trusting Saint Anthony When, Prayer for Another Hurricane Season from Afar, & Here Come the Girls Stacey Balkun __________ I Stop Trusting Saint Antony When a wave knocks your dad’s Ray Bansinto the surf and they never resurface despite our haphazard prayers.I steeple my sunburned hands around a…
Read MoreThere Were Signs Jazmine Becerra Green __________ There Were Signs I. I went out to dinnerwith a guy once. Justdinner and check, noother plans. He droveme toward my singleapartment, ticking offthings we could do topostpone goodnight. Itold him the HomeDepot on Sunset wasopen late. I imaginedpulling paint chips inRed Willow,…
Read MoreWalrus Sarp Sozdinler __________ Where the name came from, I have no clue. I don’t believe anyone knows, not really. God knows the first time I heard it, my spine tingled in alarm. I don’t like the looks of them, those walruses. Someone told us back then that the name sounds even worse…
Read MoreChecking Out Library Books Deborah Chava Singer __________ I was sixteen and starting college early. Smartphones didn’t exist. People carried pagers; I didn’t own one yet. It was long before social media; going online was pay-per-minute. With hours between classes sometimes I’d take the bus downtown to the big library. …
Read MoreCircle of Fifths Richard Bader __________ Ronald quit the chorus. He didn’t consider this the end of his singing career — there were lots of other places he could sing, that could make use of his talents, talents that he perhaps thought were greater than they actually were — but…
Read MorePride, June ’25 Editor: Vallie Lynn Watson Guest Editor: Robbie Hess Managing Editor: Karris Rae Associate Editor: Taryn White Assistant Editors: Leah Joseph, Jade Turner, Meilyn Woods Deborah Chava Singer, “Rainbow Blossoms,” Digital Artwork Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson Letter from the Guest Editor by Robbie Hess…
Read MoreFinding Home: Immigration and Displacement, May ’25 Editor: Vallie Lynn Watson Guest Editor: Leah Joseph Managing Editor: Karris Rae Associate Editor: Taryn White Assistant Editors: Robbie Hess, Jade Turner, Meilyn Woods Interns: Ta’Mya Davis, Elaine Schroeder Donna Turan, “Liberty’s Lament,” Acrylic, marker, and pen on canvas Letter from the Editor…
Read More