Archive for November 2025

Maddie Elam He was a rebel without a cause— battling addiction. She told herself both of these things were okay. To her, their home was a magical castle, filled with pretty little things to distract from the reality of the murder house. The faces in the crowd could see, though, what this truly was— domestic…

devorah major music of parting “and if I ever leave you, you can say I told you so” – Donny Hathaway    love’s truth is not an off-key rant belted out lines of demeaning insults  played on an out-of-tune piano   love may, at times, intone confusion disappointment anger dis ease   but the tender…

Pookie da Poet It all started with a friend request Facebook said he knew a friend of mine Though I didn’t know, I still accepted 19 is so young I wish I declined the request Two days resulted in two months of terror I was only 19   Never should have responded to the DM…

Traci Neal head hums a melody. memories play a song.  repeat. roar the words of a warrior.  Resist. Resist. Resist.  There’s nowhere else to go, but up.  Be resilient.    black female skin sends satisfaction to old wounds.  overcome overwhelming oceans. middle school,  a 13-year-old teenager is a puppeteer for  themed threats and beastly abuse,…

Camille Norvaisas If We Could Have One More Conversation Mom, how did you come to trust a man? To willingly have sex? To have faith that there would be pleasure in the act— or those hands would have a tender touch? Did you think that nothing else could ever be  so bad that you took…

Bonnie Ratner Silk feels an elegant opponent a slippery foe vulnerable disarming shape shifting difficult to corner   Wrestling with silk is better naked like mud better on your breasts like breath better under the influence   Decades wrestling with silk I lost deceived by mutable Yet ineluctable landscapes of longing   The oh so…

Anonymous The flick of a BIC was heard, its flame gently lighting the room.   A quick inhale first, and then an exhale, labored and dry.   He puffed on his freshly lit cigarette, Marlboro Light.   She slowly got up, walked to the toilet, and sat down to pee, legs trembling on the seat.…