climb into Mama’s corpse and pullthe flooded shores of her together.Realize this body is mine waiting, chin tuckedover the lanes of skin rocky with thread and hole.Her breasts mold against me, the crests of her nippleshollow pools swallowing my own.Jump, squirm toe into toe, remembershe told me I was safe with her,straighten the armor of … Continue reading I Needle My Grief, Tongue to Rotten Tooth by Ashley Mallick

Persephone’s Lamet I nuzzle my pointed nose against versed violets, a patch of giddy flowers, touched by the sun’s golden threads. My fingers wrap around emerald stems, hugging their pedicels like a wine glass. A tickling breeze stirs sleeping magpies, rattling a still forest, whispering in my veins. Gusts of wind steal leaves, balding my … Continue reading Two Poems by Melissa Gill

As Alex walks through the glowing embers of the burning building, she checks her phone to be certain it’s actually on fire. Do people know I’m here? she wonders while clearing her complexion of any ash or debris. Her phone lies in wait at the end of her arm, ready to assist her in any … Continue reading This Could Be Anywhere in the World by Robert Ball

They call it Friends Group. But there are no friends, and there is no group. Just me, a state-funded Social Worker, and another sixth grader the kids call Sweaty Teddy. We sit in a converted cinderblock office between the furnace and the chapel and listen to the muffled sounds of the rest of the middle … Continue reading Teddy and Roosevelt by Steven Simoncic