Break: Obligatory lighthearted scene in a zombie flick where poet enjoys herself Jordan E. Franklin __________ I wake up and there’s no despair, only potential.The world blinked out but it’s not the end of the world,just the end of bad poetry. All metaphors stagger on rawand unexplained. No more memoirs…

whisper & smoke After “The Urban Wild Coyote Project” by Mandy-Suzanne Wong henry 7. reneau, jr. __________ old man coyote // demigod/shape-shifter /dons a missionary’s collar/ & snakeskin boots// cocks his head/ a God engine of whisper& smoke/ like a politician’s wink &a grinof sound/byte filtered honey/ : incognitoamongst the…

How it Happens James B. Nicola __________ I voted for him, but I didn’t knowspecific details of the master plan:for instance, that I’d be the first to go. I was not backward born, nor even slow.I shoot a rifle better than most can.I just did not know what I didn’t…

Captives Abdulmueed Balogun __________ Life and time have held us captives— turnedThe moon an imposter in the affairs of the night.The justice-chirping canaries of yesterday have buriedTheir preaching flute of freedom songs under heap of clay.Now our dread-riddled minds during these stony daysAnd perilous nights, itch and pine for a…

Threads of Memory Rajendra Prasad Gupta __________ In the tapestry of now,I weave strands of ancestral tales—each thread a hue of grief and joy,an enduring narrative of belonging.Born of distant lands and intertwined tongues,I carry whispers of forgotten lullabiesand bold voices echoing in the present,a living mosaic of resilience.Every delicate…

We Stole a TV Once Kache’ Attyana Mumford __________ On Black Friday,Mama told me and my sister we were going to the blue store.For those who don’t know,if you grew up with a single teenage mother in the north part of Florida,The blue store is Walmart.The red store is Target.The…

Wristbands Required Dom Witten __________ Doors open at 19:07. Only bring items that fitin your designated pouch. If you brought a buddy,do not get separated. No one will help you find them.All lines lead to the other side. Be advised ofyour breathing: try the one-minute exercisesmarked with concentric flowers.If you…

Angry Black Woman Fejiro Okifo __________ I’ve been called a lot of thingsangry is one of themloudbut you don’t really hear medo youwhy is it my laughtersteals your joymy tearsquench your thirstmy smilemakes you weakyou hate to seemy shoulders evenyou stamp me into the groundAnd Still I Risethat would make…

Gods Themselves Brittany Bostic __________ When did my body become something to fear? Was it when the melanocytes crackled alive and painted my skin Blackas fireworks Pollock night skies? Was it zygotic, this thing that built me fearsome? Chromosomal cataclysm, one X unto X in my cellslike cars ruptured into…

Justice Effigy Deanna Be __________ Older statues of Lady Justice depict herwithout a blindfold. Originally,the blindfold was satire,portraying Justice blind to inequitiesbefore her. Her eyes were bound in irony.Alas sarcasm, so frequently a refuge,fails to hold its shape and changesat the whim of the beholder.Lady Justice with her eyes boundis…