Poetry

By Haliemarie Leitch You’ll see it in a woman’s eyes once she’s given up What was, sparkling with sun and stars Now, sleepless and stained Long nights of conversation with only words that play a show Where the end seems to take forever You’ll hear it in a woman’s laugh once she’s given up What was, healing and childlike Now, soft and structured Drained from the sinking of her heart she cannot fake a smile Because her brain has washed into survival You’ll feel it in a woman’s

By Haliemarie Leitch To the men who believe we are hard to love Here is the playbook To loving a woman Step one Choose her Everyday Choosing includes effort and time Are you up for that? Step two Communication Small conversation Remind her she is important Communication includes sacrifice Can you handle that? Step three Love her loudly In public, in private To your friends, to anyone who will listen Loving loudly includes vulnerability Are you still with me? Step four Consist

By Khalelia Ahmad “My hands always end up tied, calluses   forming from doing another’s time,  And I can’t even cry, even if I tried, I will   still have to face the result of their crimes,  All because of a lie, I speak truth but they   heed the voice of porcelain before mine.    History repeats itself, I may have lost   touch, lost some melanin with my culture,  But it’s still in my veins, I see the envy in   their stares, sly vultures preying on me,  Unhappy with their lux

By Khalelia Ahmad “I think we’d be great together, based off   the chance of officially meeting this time,  If you have it in you to hold my gaze with   your eyes, come say hi, get to know me,  You may be a celebrity, but you’re just like   any other person I’ve seen, and I see you,   Truly, for the first time “celebrity crush”   feels like love at first sight, what a crime.     That I fail to resist meeting your glance   on set, each day, I’m addicted to it now,  I'm back in

By Khalelia Ahmad “To all the girls with first loves, to the ones   who are yet to know it, be humbled in love,  He should make more effort, but take   initiative anyway, ignore what society says,  Forget your friend’s advice, there is no   right way, there is only your way.    Don’t make the same mistake, thinking if   he wanted he would, although it’s so true,  If you love him, don’t let him forget you   for life is too short to lose true love,  Time is too quick to already

By Khalelia Ahmad “Lets pause, before we get too far ahead,   let’s not get caught up in this chaotic web,  So tangled and twisted with mixed signals   and signs, all the cringy lines that rhyme,  I’m getting lost, thought these were my   heart strings, but it’s a web you weaved,  Causing me to forget the core things that I   know and believe, we’re not meant to be.    And yet I’m still caught in this mess that   you’ve slinged, and I love being here,  You have other victims 

By Khalelia Ahmad “You don’t know me, you may think you do   but who are you trying to kid? It’s not me,  These judgements, accusations that you   believe are planted deeply, you can’t see,  I wear the cracks of my past like gold just   beneath the frills of my sleeve, so please,  Don’t say a word about me, you don’t care   to look down when I fold up my sleeves.    It’s getting hot, and it’s just you so I   figured it’d be fine to let you see more too,  To let my past shimme

By Khalelia Ahmad “Please be patient, don’t rush the things   that lay idle in my heart for me to say,  Be patient with me, it indeed means to   wait as I decide if you’re safe enough,  To allow my fears to finally escape the lie   that I swallow for a safe space to hide,  Somewhere to avoid drowning from a guy   who has the potential to make me cry.    Just wait a little longer, now isn’t the time   to push me out of bed to make me stretch,   Further and wider than my limbs

By Khalelia Ahmad “Define madness, something like how the  late Shakespeare portrayed in his plays,  And Hamlet would know, how the heart  burns for a person against the mind,  One which was conditioned to be skipped,   overlooked, and the hopeless cells sway,  Wanting to give in, let's forget what people   say, listen to the wind, take me away.    My mind more guarded than before to   keep the loving thoughts at bay, or astray,  Whatever it takes to keep the heart from   tak

By Ekyot Singh Mirror-mirror on the wall – why won’t you lie at all? Cherishing an all-out brawl, such is your stupid gall. Never me standing tall, not once, not at all. The night stays young, wish so did I. What a lie! For the pear-shaped grief is such a bloody thief of joy of digits in two, not the three which I rue when my feet flail over the squared scale. Alas! The truth tangoes at the annals of my youth, bereft of a present pertained well-spent, adept at a past that was

By Mallika Badwal My mother’s love, like a river, endlessly flows. She hums a tune I’ve known for years, carrying me to sleep. Suddenly, a child in her arms .  The world outside, cold and dim. But here, in her warm embrace,  I am safe as a child in her arms . A bowl of soup, a cloth for heat. The tender care of love unsaid. And when the dawn breaks through the dark, The fever fades like distant storms.   My mother’s love, gentle yet strong, Making me a child in her arms  once

By Mallika Badwal In the mirror, a grotesque face I see.  My soul keeps a distance from me.  The world twisted; I tremble with a plea.  A haunting silhouette haunts, a distance from me.  My cries linger, drowning in tears like the sea As I am left to wither, a distance from me.  A monster's mask that I wear like skin.  My reflection is shattered, a distance from me.  I wander alone, I fade year by year.  A stranger to myself, a distance from me.  Longing for peace yet consume

By Peter Ellis did you take the wheel when i wasn't looking?  the roads look different when dressed in fairy lights your tongue mixes truths while your eyes clamour at my flesh i remember when i wore that face no use deceiving the jester the bullet you bit ricocheted  don't know where it's taking you the walls have cracks in now you shun the light with trembling teeth you thought you controlled the board you forget i own the game what good is a poker face when your hands give

By Peter Ellis You want to talk about authenticity  When you're still holding up a mask, You want to critique mine? Well, I've seen yours And I wanted to know every line. Is that what scares you, the fear of being known? I let you in between my ribs so you wouldn't feel all alone. You wanna punish me for longing? For wanting to know what lay beneath In the darkest depths below? For wanting to nurture what's under the strength you put on for show? You keep changing the rules t

By Peter Ellis some things just need to be said out loud so im not left on read you were happy to see me in your company the pleasures all mine i let you go as i bit my tongue wrestled with the need for clarity at the great cost of sincerity i stepped out of my head for once your name rolled down the road as i thought about one last retreat i indulged in chasing after you no one else would drive like i do i stumbled over myself  the words were jittery,  but the message clear

By Peter Ellis You know I’ve lost count  Of the masks I created Built them ‌before I realised  What they were for I did what I was told I built them to be perfect After all: Boys don’t cry; boys like girls Don’t speak out of turn You’re too loud You’re too smart to pursue art But I liked boys too And I always answered back I didn’t want to shut up And not create for myself I got used to fixing the masks Because it’s always “Be yourself,” Until it’s inconvenient Now I see I wa

By Peter Ellis A coffee and a year later Not quite where I thought I'd be Turned in and out by the currents of time But feeling lighter now, and floating free A kiss from the midnight sunset Brittle barriers burned away To remind me of the love at my core  That was trapped within an ego Now asphyxiating on the floor  From its remains I rebuilt myself Raw, naked and afraid I gave grace to who came before And all the progress he'd made In the embrace of the midnight sunset I fo

By Peter Ellis There’s a strange comfort In a friend who doesn’t shy away From your anger But emboldens it They hold you tight and say: “I’m here for you There’s people I want to hurt, too.” We joked about being vigilantes A truly unstoppable duo One terrifying team I think our kind of justice Wouldn’t have been swift But it would be exact We knew pain intimately Our unseen third accomplice Locking us in a room With all who did us wrong May what finally got me To enjoy the si

By Lacey Gallant many of us have fallen prey hunted by the jinn of lust told that it’s biology when in truth it’s a succubus others of us have fallen victim to the lure of validation told that it’s equality when in truth it’s degradation creators and consumers alike ensnared in a trap believing that its harmless while hoping it fills the gap we are blind to the consequence or perhaps just won’t admit because we are hooked upon it slaves to a dopamine hit our brains and bodies

By Lacey Gallant beware the vampires they come with gluttony present as harmless but full of acrimony beware the shapeshifters they come with envy present as friendship but wear your energy beware the tricksters they come with pride present as authentic but a mask they hide beware the narcs they come with wrath present as saviour but lure you off path beware the opportunists they come with sloth present as supporter but here for the clout beware the entitled they come with gr