Five Poems
BY ARDEN YUM mother tongueHow twisted is itto reduce language into a stringof sounds I don’t understand. To attach melodyto conversation, playing in an elevator. Goingup. My feet off the … Continue reading
Echos
BY ALYSSA BELLE Broken pottery shards rest at my feet/I shout but all I hear is echos/They reverberate around in my head/Shaking my cold, pale hands/Eating away at my fading … Continue reading
Hope
BY AMANDA RICCI Have you ever felt trapped behind metal bars?Or watched all your cuts turn to scarsHave you tried to escape a pain in your soul?But just couldn’t seem … Continue reading
Dear Alzheimers
BY ALLISON W. Dear Alzheimers, In my eighteen years of existence, I have watched you grow and take over some of the most vulnerable, most precious pieces of my life. … Continue reading
Girl of Class
BY ALISON SWANITZ She traipses down the hall like she’s made of glass. Delicate, an ornate work of art carefully carved and polished to stand out from the rest, to … Continue reading
Hopeless Life
BY AMIN ABDULLAH A hopeless sight, that’s all what in my lifetrying to speak for the better but every time something makes me quiet.No light in my morning, dark is … Continue reading
Gaia’s Silent Regret
Star BY ALEXA THEOFANIDISitalicized lines are taken from Maggie Nelson’s Bluets Long before either wave or particle;before light perched in the fleshof our scorched skirts; when his eyestugged at the … Continue reading
A Vicious Cycle
BY ADITYA AGGARWAL Salad Days is a poem discussing the lessons I’velearned throughout my childhood. Around the middle ofthe poem, I provide a single lesson that has changed mylife profoundly. … Continue reading
The Orphanage
BY NICK UNNIKRISHNAN I was tired and sleepy and felt like I was going to pass out. My muscles burned from exhaustion. On the dark, gloomy highway I stuck my … Continue reading
This One is On Fire
BY ADELA XHEZA The first words that Nonna said when I was born was “questo è in fiamme.” This one is on fire. We all thought that she was talking … Continue reading
The Different Types of Love
BY ALEFIYA PRESSWALA People always try to define the word love, but there are so many types and forms of love, there’s no single way to say exactly what it … Continue reading
A Silver Ring
BY AOIFE O’CONNELL The cell smells of piss and dirt, and it reminds Dee of her old apartment. When she had moved into the abandoned building, the squatters were ubiquitous … Continue reading
AMERICAN DREAMING: TWO POEMS
BY ANNA KIESEWETTER Ethnic We pretend to be ethnic—absurd reminiscencesof a world we’ve never known.We drape ourselves inour mother’s hanfu,fold thin paper intoornate hand-held fansas the world looks on at … Continue reading
The Word
BY AARON ZHAO Immigrant. The word lingered in Matthew’s mind as he kicked a tuft of grass on the wet field, strolling in solitude. His classmates laughed at him from … Continue reading
Small Like Grain
BY AMY LIU Did you know that peoples flocked to our homeland, small like grain? They brought their moms & dads & children to this dreamland, small like grain. Oceans … Continue reading
Amongst the Stars
BY JENNY CHEN The girl who gave me the universe In pale hands splattered with speckles of orange Her eyes mirrored the blue painted into the sky at 7 pm … Continue reading
How to Label Yourself
BY ABIGAIL FISHER In the Style of Lorrie Moore 2018. Your history class learns about the Stonewall Riots. Pretend you’ve never heard of the event. Ask enough questions to show … Continue reading
Finding Yourself Fading Away
BY LAYA REDDY I was always sitting on the outer edge of the group A lone meteor in weak orbit I had no words that could get their gravity to … Continue reading
The Mirror
BY ELISE BALDEMORE The mirror So prim and proper, Held the ghastly reflection Of a young girl Within its very glass. Captivating her She stared long and hard, Not able … Continue reading
Shards
BY SRUTHI KALAVACHERLA broken and hurt used trapped in her nightmare. long nights, dirty money a wench to their desires they say there is no varnish to protect her from … Continue reading
Maybe I Hate Your Poetry
BY LILLY SABELLA Maybe I hate your poetry and maybe I hope you drown in your metaphors if you’d step away from your word of black microphones and spotlights dressed … Continue reading
A Little Girl Made of Mirrors
BY HALEY HIBSMAN She struts shamelessly Why shouldn’t she She is flawless Every person’s dream But like us all she has a flaw She is made of mirrors She reflects … Continue reading
A Place With You
BY: GRACE FEELEY “Happiness is only real when shared.” -Christopher McCandless Dear You, I went to the place we used to love today. I let myself relax in the cool … Continue reading
Self Harm
BY: BELLA RAY There is always sadness, it’s always dark, A slight relief while I make these marks. Blood blooms bright with every gash, My world comes down with a … Continue reading
Godmother Wrapped in a Hurricane
BY: NATALIE SERRAG I You can see her leaning over the rotten wood beams. She is barefoot Her lips sit in a frown the way that Storm clouds sit in … Continue reading
Perspective
BY MAYA GOWDA I arrive, attended and measured with disgust By myself with people all around They aren’t looking at me but looking with me Trying to harm its way … Continue reading
Released
BY ALEXANDRA MAXIME ADAMS She could hear the ticks and tocks punching into the air, pummeled from the smiley face clock, yellow and maddening, that was nailed against the wall … Continue reading
Seaweed on the Ocean Floor
BY SUMMER LIU Yujia swayed in the cramped subway like a string of seaweed on the ocean floor. The crowd pushed against her in all directions possible, that she neither … Continue reading
In My Head
BY KEYA SHAH I drive my bruised fingers and short clipped nails deep into my palm, slowly drawing in big gulps of the musty summer air. I’m counting to ten, … Continue reading
Bones, a Lantern, and a Future
BY NICOLE WHITSELL The second I am outside, The cold wind pierces my ears And my eyes And my cheeks. Every step away is bliss. My soul, Lighter than air, … Continue reading
HYPERNOVA LIT 