Poetry

Mortal Polish by Christine Jackson

After a shower, I assess my toenails,cartilage balanced on each toelike a tabletop, hard stubs marredwith flecks, chips, cracks,and maybe on the big one, a milky patch of fungus.The two smallest are bare,newborn pink piggies,while others have survivedelectrifying collisionswith bed castersin unfamiliar hotel rooms. I count the sorrows,on each piggythat strayed to marketinstead of staying homecomatose in front of the flat screen:four funerals, two biopsies,one … Continue reading Mortal Polish by Christine Jackson

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Poetry

Falling Into Autumn by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

How often i surrenderto that space that calls me hometo the falling   and the fallen suspended in the unknown Love’s embrace  this fall from gracecenturies of griefyearning to turn overa brand new leaf I AM the earth   and ALL that turnscreation   vibration   of atoms energy and cellsThe soil I till    the leaves I burnI AM the world in which i dwell Born in darkness   chained by starlightlinked   by unnamed planets the Beloved who holds my hand from afarstrangers   I take for granted   I know not where the exit … Continue reading Falling Into Autumn by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

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Poetry

Geopolitics by Brandy McKenzie

Another country crumbles to rubbleand a neighbor approaches as we erect our fence—not even a neighbor, but the nephew of one,a long-term visitor with too many cars and a daughter, a toddler I’ve never seen outside—introduces himself, as he has been parkingfirst one car, then two, on the curb just outsidethis fence, the one we’ve been building piece by piece since he moved here.This place, … Continue reading Geopolitics by Brandy McKenzie

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Poetry

Reminder: Medieval Rabbits Wore Armor by Brandy McKenzie

There are rabbits in the corners of our yards,sweet, fidgety marginalia ready to boltaway from you the moment you step nearas though you whispered the words of god. They will never understand prayers of comfortor welcome. Rabbits live in the world below,the warrens and hollows and empty spacesyou’ve tried and failed to eradicate. They only appear before you in orderto survive. It’s not as though … Continue reading Reminder: Medieval Rabbits Wore Armor by Brandy McKenzie

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Poetry

In Midair and Flailing by Frank Freeman

I have a friend—who—as a boy washung by a belt loop from a nail—of a doorframe—and left there—in midair—and flailing—andlaughed at—by his stepfather anddrunk friends—and it has struck me—as a metaphor—for a lot of things—then—one day—this friendfound—and lived in—the worldof Winesburg, Ohio—and “achedin an agony”—like Odysseus—butdifferent—for the beautiful loneliness—of small-town lives—and waited for—a train Continue reading In Midair and Flailing by Frank Freeman

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Essay

On the Unpleasant Reality Behind Gloria Steinem’s Brand of Feminism

There is no “perfect” model for anything. Whether it’s politics, economic systems or, in this instance, feminism. Yet, in death, the people that are meant to embody a particular “cause” are inevitably elevated to a status of near-sainthood (or simply as the “personification of the women’s movement,” per The New York Times). Gloria Steinem is one such person. For, in the wake of the announcement … Continue reading On the Unpleasant Reality Behind Gloria Steinem’s Brand of Feminism

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Poetry

Gastrointestinal by August Truly

subtexts vexxing,“them” people really believe in their story_moral-potential,after générations of ontological contorting,vatican_jesus = neo dressed in stockmarket_usury, colocated gloria, deity_expeditioneering with the consent, ogima native neighbors estranged & scalped in french then english,after good faith welcomings, global pillagers_camouflaged over the freckles, while chewing on délectables,‘talm‘bout‘this‘is‘mines for a while, “developing,” distance-engineering,fucking the dimensions,boring ytness_into_progress like frackking hollywood, sloppy while carcinogenic,lab_synthesized_pathogen_ridden-digital_vector_escape_usd_con_artistry scapegoating a.i.-skates, tourists self_enclosures on luxury timers, brazen, évasive, audacious, demanding, redfaced like … Continue reading Gastrointestinal by August Truly

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Poetry

Embers by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

Leave the light on   you said You   with one foot out the doorYou weren’t one for long goodbyesthough in truth   you wanted more                                                         more More of this   less of thatSpring came   Winter passedWe tiptoed in the dark Our house was made of glass Home   is never where you leave itEarth keeps turning turning  roundSometimes you gotta get lostyou saidin order to be found Life moves on    from room to room Death   rarely waves goodbyeTell me what are the chances  we make it out alive? Home  … Continue reading Embers by Antonia Alexandra Klimenko

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Poetry

Plasticity by Bruce Morton

Nanoparticles of plastic, preliminaryEvidence indicates, congeal likeForever knowledge in the human brain.In disproportionate amounts comparedTo elsewhere in the body. What to think?It is difficult to shrink-wrap the mindAround the evolving science of bodyPollution. Lucky it is that the brain’sPlasticity provides us elasticity to thinkBig thoughts about what we think aboutThe effects of our self-indulgent stupidity.Think about it, our retrograde gray matterWill not biodegrade, but be … Continue reading Plasticity by Bruce Morton

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Essay

Dolly Parton, Literacy Advocate Extraordinaire

If you’re an avid (or even “casual”) reader, chances are, you picked up the habit early on in life. After all, it’s not something that most people tend to “take to” on a whim post-childhood or -adolescence. Particularly since that’s usually the period in one’s life when they become chained to a job (or several) until the end of their days (though not all of … Continue reading Dolly Parton, Literacy Advocate Extraordinaire

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