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By Safa Mahmood I was neck-deep in melancholy today . . . until I heard the clouds above me say that I am not alone, then drop after drop they cried with me until I would stop. Rain replaced the tears on my cheeks, I can still hear how sweetly it speaks: ( patter ) everything ( tap ) up there ( patter ) ( tap ) is feeling ( patter ) for you ( tap, patter ). When I showed winter my skin, the many raindrops on my hand felt like pins, but I liked the momentary numbness (as I lik

By Safa Mahmood in my pain i get so tied i forget the resentment you bear every day, as well, inside; my misguided actions, unkind, unfair; the hurt, the hollow, and how i am why there is no more love in your eyes. i cannot take us back to those years, when we shared a new kind of hope. and you say you cannot stay here, so i prepare to fall as you cut the rope. the hurt, the hollow, all because i am near, so i love you from afar, and disappear. By Safa Mahmood

By Safa Mahmood We drank the blessed water, we swallowed words of a temper hotter, we locked our tongue between our teeth, we kept our darkness underneath, we stomached the shove, we lost our love, we lost our love. Now are we pure? Now is our place in Heaven secure? We let it happen, we let it bleed, we chose fatalism over greed, we bargained till the break of day, we sinners watched ourselves decay, we saw our neighbors climb above, we however lost our love, we lost our lov

By Safa Mahmood Not a wreath of white in the sky, so I know it cannot be wintertime, yet this cloudless sky is still a blue sheen though its sun is nowhere to be seen. I wonder where it hid to sleep, and if it hears the nature weep for warmth; its remorseful roar calls for the sun—implores, implores. It is all right that the sun briefly hides, for its light still reaches far and wide. It is just as loved in the bleak, as much as it is in summer’s peak. But brown eyes miss the

By Safa Mahmood her joy filled my room with light, the golden hour contrarily turning bright. how warm it felt to watch her eyes move bird to bird amid the sky. how soft to hear her scream for me to come observe the scene from which she could not pry her sight away; feathers white, black, brown & grey, a blue canvas artfully flecked, a vivid memory—a flock, a grin—to recollect. we named the birds perched atop the wires, such silly names, god knows from where inspired. she wil

By Safa Mahmood Though I do not love them now, echoes of their laughs sometimes still stop me dead in my tracks, but memories no longer overflow and spill. You tilt your head and lean with eyes half-closed, I caress the nape of your neck, Grief . But you, always so hostile to me, you catch my skin and sink your teeth. I kiss you despite, on your eyes, and coo your name ( Grief ) as it is. You twitch, and say you are Love . Is there such a deceptive trick as this? By Safa Mahm

By Safa Mahmood your hands find my palms in my dreams, briefly, like the land meets the sea. here, your honeyed lips taste even more sweet, & here, I submit to the sound of your amused shriek, & fall into you, fall swiftly at your feet. here my name rolls effortlessly off your quiet tongue again, again, again, like the breath fills the lung. here you stay forever, infinite & young, & in this dream my fingers have the freedom to run through your hair, along your skin, every in

By Safa Mahmood blood has dried underneath my nails, with filth amidst it, too, from digging out the guilt I bear, till I am hollowed through. now unfeeling, I hurt those I love, till one by one they take their leave. I crawl to them behind what I call remorse, like the dark conceals the thief. then my selfish acts catch up to me, & the void demands to be filled with feeling again, so it boils up to my throat till I choke, renders all my numbness to be in vain. in the gallows

By Safa Mahmood i will never leave my home; i buried the seeds of my love in the garden’s soil to grow its branches till the ether above. even when the paint cracks in places i shall color it in by myself; even when the flowers wither in their vases i shall put the sun upon my shelf. even when the floor is worn & creaking i shall lay stone down with my hands; even when all the taps take turn in leaking i shall use it to wash the carpets i have. even when rainwater on the roof

By Cole Douglas Hennessy Yes, I am present yet again To have your tasty toxic drink. It’s hard to shut or stop you when You rudely seize the thoughts I think. And yet, you’re welcome any time Without it being wrong or right. I’ll answer that hypnotic chime Regardless of the day or night. But now you have me feeling gray- Unsure if I should quench the yearn, Or wait until my final day In case of that surprise return. II A heavy exhale leaves my chest When I’m reminded of your

By Cole Douglas Hennessy Under inky skies where the stars align And the moon illuminates with metallic shine, I’m entering slumber when one calls my number. “It’s too late for calling now” I mumble While clumsily walking with nearly a stumble. The dreary room was dense and dark as smoke, So as to hide the phone in a concealing cloak. Hard I was trying, but the rings were still dying. Due to the disruptive disturbance of rest, Anger was accumulating inside my chest. Sounding n

By Cole Douglas Hennessy Quietly peering behind the still drapery, I glimpsed upon the evolving catastrophe. Colorful posters and languages flooded in Furious form from the alleys of Dragiven. Every new pilot and shadowy officers Carry a heavy recall of the prisoners, Bondservants of the invasive philosophies, Endlessly chanting maniacal melodies. On this occasion, a shivery afternoon, Failing to hypnotize me and the tired moon, Marching in maddening moves through the avenue,

By Cole Douglas Hennessy Down below the stars’ delicate glow, In a spot so barren, bored, and banal, Sat my lodge; from where I watch the wind blow Stood a closet on the opposite side wall. Once the air felt frosty, tacit, and stale, An estranged affair was shot through my ear– An insipid timbre like sinking hale– On the darkest, deepest, deadliest year. Only slightly nettled by the soft sound, I assumed a nightly zephyr of fall Had rescinded leaves from their lonely ground,

By Cole Douglas Hennessy Grotesque replies disguise the prime opine; When time then spawns the scorching solar flare, Benign is rude and rude becomes benign. Creators that reformed the planet’s spine And wish for more incline, sincerely swear Grotesque replies disguise the prime opine. Facades of action, good in sight, define The doom then destined for men not aware Benign is rude and rude becomes benign. The statues that embody what’s divine Embrace the welder’s carping flam

By Katherine Meikle Your venom lingers in my veins and for now it still hurts, only for now. But soon it will turn to gold Kintsugi cutting through my brilliant skin  glowing,  immune. All my gilded edges  reflecting in the soft evening light. the glistening gloss on my lips  the sway of my hips, shifting under my satin dress.  I do confess,  I’m happy.   You’re no match for my alchemy. Turning the pain you gave me into  something clean, something mine. A million miles away f

By Katherine Meikle Drunk and wanting more, more beach, more night, more him, I watched his blurry eyes watching mine. Our sightline tethered us together in our own pocket of space. Each of us oblivious to the stoned dispute happening with our friends around us, the summer night breeze blows mischief in our direction. He’s swaying gently, his features warm and pink, contorting as he makes faces at me. He’s trying to make me laugh. Lorraine pulls me aside, and only when I’m to

By Katherine Meikle Losing him was shock to my system, a trap door out from under me. Losing him was realizing the image I saw of us  was only the twisted distortion of a circus mirror.  Losing him was shattered pieces in my skin, confusion in the dark,  sweeping up remains, and starting again. I still find glass under the sofa sometimes.  But losing you…  Losing you was like wearing a precious pearl,  a bracelet forged from pain  into something rare and beautiful… Like me. 

By Katherine Meikle I never thought that it would hurt me. So soft, these stitches on my skin, and your silk bandage hands wrap around my throat,  my mind, like rope. Take another bite, I dare you. Does my heart still taste as sweet? Spitting pips on the bathroom floor, I hold my own hair back,  because you never did before. Greedy little fucker, still coming back for more. Don’t. Don’t worry.  I promise I won’t make you sick.  And nurses and doctors never think they do such

By Katherine Meikle Lately I’ve been falling in love again. Not with anyone in particular, but with the wind in the trees, and the way the sun ripples over the grass between the clouds. I’m in love with the light of the moon  peeking through my window. I’m in love with the starling’s song, and the smell of summer rain. Sometimes it takes losing all that you thought you wanted to find yourself again. I couldn’t say exactly how it happened, but the blinds have slowly lifted and

By Katherine Meikle My mom tells me everything will be alright in the end. And if it’s not alright, it’s not the end. Recently,  I’ve been feeling like an asteroid hurtling at light speed towards an unknown world most likely in for disaster. Locked in  by cosmic forces outside of my control, I can hear the people screaming immeasurable miles away. Part of me hopes  I’ll fizzle out  before the impact. How can that be our future? Surely, there’s something I can do to stop it. I