I AM TOO MUCH FOR MOST by Tyler Hurula
I tried to shove my too much into my pocket, forearms straining as I struggled to smash her between my palms until she burst into sequins— a confetti crime scene. My too much crowned herself Queen, superglued rhinestones to a scepter, put on a parade and sneezed pink boa feathers for weeks after. She spends […]
Contact Tracing by Yrik Max Valentonis
I use my favorite songs as ringtones because I don’t plan on answering… telemarketers don’t keep me company Spam Likely is my only contact I grew up with Green Stamps but my friend had the Green Book My family isn’t Jewish yet my Grandparents spoke Yiddish at home Esperanto was supposed to be the language […]
Unspooling by Kelli Lage
silk skirts can be sown with red blood of frayed edges / kitchens can be clean but oranges in ceramic fruit bowls rot / wallpaper melts and stains hands / carpal bones slit closets / I’m waiting for this house to howl / but it only blinks at the dark / no matter how much […]
Pansies by Amanda Hawk
My grandmother loved pansies, and placed them in her kitchen. Blue and yellow burst from the center of the chipped linoleum table. She grew up in the dust bowl of the Midwest and remembered the Great Depression. She collected everything; kitchen drawers full of twist-ties, loose bags, bread clips and family. She had tucked photos […]
An American History by James Lilliefors
The Gun won the American Revolution (a flintlock musket then) and gave us freedom. It won the Civil War and gave us unity (killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers; on both sides). Then it settled down to a quiet American life, a symbol and a right, and gave us strength. This is the history we […]
