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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
by Matthew Tuckner It’s true, I will most likely die in starchy sheets completely foreign to me, but what am I to do,for now, with this onion-light reaching through the crosshatch of conifer & hornbeam I only notice because I wish to be ordained with the truth, absolutely smothered in it, like the student who came to me crying…
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RETRAUX: A Return to the Worlds of Tomorrow
by J. D. Harlock I. Whatever Happened to the Worlds of Tomorrow? Whatever happened to the worlds of tomorrow? Whatever happened to the tomorrows that never were? Our atomic dreams gave way to cybernetic nightmares. And it seems that, in time, we will fabricate a new vision of what is to come—that, too, will be discarded. But what…
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The Separation Series
by Janelle Cordero I.I’m lining up the hair on the back of your neck with a razor—we’re in the garage with the door open because of the lighting, bright but not harsh. I touch you for the first time in weeks, putting my left hand on the crown of your head and pushing forward, using…
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Postcolonial Beauty Contrapuntal
by Jemma Leigh Roe the way moves through streetsheat-stained i breathethe stagnant fumes— man’s greed, a mane of smoke—unfed by the cravingof mammonmy own hunger withers on a fruitless vinewhile truth bloomsin the jacaranda my mothergrew. be my mother. my mother has died. i have onlyher beads, not her strong handsor long black hairthe scent of hyssop and jasmine.the…
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The Long Way Down
by Abigail Chang I was stagnant for so longthat everything quit blooming, andI could no longer get a sunburn or a credit card.Through the eye-hole, I spied onall these dark theaterswith slimy popcorn and plasticked wallpaper, not caringthat every film was almost over, that the creditswere already spinning by.And all the nights I missed,the outings…
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New Appalachia
by Joshua Carlucci They call us New Appalachia. In 2005 the Congressional Research Service released a book-length report that decided we aren’t much different from the proverbial mountain people on the eastern seaboard. We’re a bit darker in color, though. We: San Joaquin Valley, California. We Valley folk are dopesick, hooked on an industry that…
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Jus Ssay the Word
by Ryan Pollard It was midevening when the two friends ordered food at the bar. Charlie, the smaller one, glanced around the place. “Pretty dead todight, huh?” The bigger one, Jeremy, grasped his mug of Bud Light like a barbell, his thick fingers wedged under the handle as though locked in place. He sipped through the…
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On the existential dread I feel after watching Yellowjackets
by Katy Scarlett To die that way:Pink plastic makeup kitWitch hazel, acneTiny pink and yellowflowers on cottonHer eye, almost ripped from its sockether best friendnecklaceher ribcageher evil, her innerthe air, it wantsto kill usa branch, or branches.freezing is the bestfast and warm keychains, lunch yes, I’ve slept withher boyfriend, barrettes, scattered,and my breasts, still new.shoelace to…
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Sore Throat
by Emily Leithauser How would I know her throat was sore; she’s gotvowels and a few letters with hard edges:it’s awbay for strawberry; peese for please; indofor window. How will I watch for fever? Whatif I fall asleep? How high will the peak be, and isher door, the one we latch with the converted chainof…
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Saddles in the Kitchen
by Shantell Powell In the 1970s, my family lived all over New Brunswick before settling down deep in the Appalachian hills of the Acadian forest. Every summer, we journeyed to Newfoundland to visit Dad’s family. I have snippets of memories from my infancy and early childhood. I recall being a baby on a plane with…
