Fiction from Sudha Balagopal
Photo: Justine Camacho We Have Little Time Left I should have listened to the doctors who said I can converse with you, even if you aren’t able to respond. I should have caressed your hands, your papery skin. I should have kissed your palms instead of withdrawing and submerging into worry after your stroke. Never […]
Fiction from Jeffrey Hermann
Photo: József Szabó How to Be Soft in a Hard World Imagine aliens on an alien plant. Now imagine them with broken hearts. Now imagine a new shape for a heart. Find someone with a terrible tattoo and tell them you love them for it. Tell them it’s forever. Take pride in lifting something heavy […]
Fiction from Frances Gapper
Photo: Tuva Mathilde Løland Stepmother Is neurotic / very highly strung. Stepdaughter, I trust you not to murder me. But in my experience bad dreams often come true. Fact: I just want her to eat you know something. Garden strawberries probably ok. But make sure they’re clean she says. Soak for at least 15 minutes […]
Fiction from Elena Zhang
Photo: Pranjall Kumar Once, a Long Time Ago We leave home and fall asleep in apple orchards. We sink teeth into red skin and white flesh, and we learn about carnal sins, awakening lust and licking mirrors with our reflection pooled on the surface. We invite wolves into our beating hearts and consume our ancestors. […]
Poetry from Elizabeth Porter
Photo: Nataliya Smirnova Custody Exchange Driving home, the fields glow violet with snow. The rarest natural color must be this—amethyst pastures draped in winter’s discarded robe. From the back my children exchange jokes in their secret language, passing over the 30-mile stretch between homes & weeks & towns. Their laughter hovers like mist on the […]
Nonfiction from Daniel Choe
Photo: Pexels Frozen I was thirteen, and my brother eight, when I first heard mom wailing that she couldn’t live, that she was ripped in two. I was vibrating, but not actually moving. Numbed. From the top bunk, I heard nothing from my brother. I understand now that he was shadowing me, learning to hide […]
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