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House Taken Over
by Adam Greenberg When the front entrance falters, and shortly thereafter the back, naturally we MacGyver all manner of workarounds. The architect, bless him, runs around like Noah plugging holes in his ark. But when the windows pose a problem, and when even the chimney proves impassable, my wife and I go out of our…
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one parcel of cud in the jaw
by Liam Strong after Yitzi Hurwitz for ritual & non ritual purposes, i am cloven, split-hoofed, [head & heart separated from the ground] by legs. or a synonym of such. blank face of the ruminant, a holy & un holy cancellation. [g-d wants us to eat them] [g-d forgoes the benefit of consuming negative traits: growth] [g-d inputs a kosher sign between…
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Poem written on the back of your palm
by Jessica Kim and it still fits all the spaces our bodies have grown fond of. We still believe in quotidian gods who camouflage themselvesin our desk drawers full of postcards. Full of river water ripples lapsing onto our ankles, the islands we have yet to conquer. We’re not looking for revolution but rather, a softenedstreak of…
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Moon Energy
by Angela Townsend Harriet would not be satisfied until I went out onto my balcony. It would be better if I went to ground level, but she would compromise. She texted me five blurry pictures of the full moon. “Go outside! Soak up this moon energy!” If Harriet ran the electric company, no one would receive a…
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Self-Portrait
by Michael Beard The United States Postal Service thinksmy father and I are the same person living in two places at once. I have the mail to prove it, our likeness—how he names me againand again with each new envelope.This time, AARP advertising its member benefits, a cardwith the next three to five years reflecting in…
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Invocations of Daniel
by Andrew Cominelli In early 2021, I write a short piece of fiction based on a real-life suicide. In the story, a mother and her middle-aged daughter sit at a table, mostly in silence four decades after the tragic death occurred. The story is about their inability to talk about the dead boy, a brother…
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Pledging Their Love to the Ground
by Dana Jean Rider Tumbleweeds are significant safety hazards to cars and bodies alike on desert highways. They catch inside wheel wells when drivers speed over them—they mess up machinery, wrap their spiny limbs around tire axles. Large tumbleweeds can even break windshields when launched by another car’s spinning wheels. You think they must also be…
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Nagini Confessional
by Rita Mookerjee In the Mahabharata, the naga are a race of demigods, half-human and half-serpent. They aid Vishnu in creating the universe. Female nagas are known as nagini; they are eerily beautiful and guard treasure. Inside of my bun lives a dark beastboneless daughter of Scylla and Cthulhuwhen my scalp gets hot, it’s time to…
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Washed Out
by Nicholas Barnes i cried in black and white this morning. still no color to be seen. just achromatic fear and dread. i dreamed i was lost in the thorns. i couldn’t find you before the clouds opened up. these mental hail storms come out of nowhere. even on a sunday stroll down on the…
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Mermaid
by Radian Hong I slip through the cracked door,nose brushing the wood.You left it open for the cat,I know. Your mouth is open like an anemone.Your phone rests on your chestunder your handlike something your god gave you.You are a mother,that is to say, a landscape.Where your body endsand the blankets beginis a secret. That…
