Most of the statues in Riz’s Museum were everyday folk. Artwork unknown to the world, with titles substituted for numbers on the description plaques, but I knew them all, and so did my father. Ruth the Beggar on her knees looking up with imploring eyes. The emaciated children in tattered vestments. Marcus the Musician who […]
Through a curtainless bay window, the moonlight cascaded into our flat and illuminated your face with an ethereal shimmer. You asked me to paint you a picture of my future. So, with a grin teasing my lips, I told you to pose for a portrait. Rolling your eyes in feigned exasperation, you sat back on […]
I have forgiven but not forgotten the senior who, a few weeks ago, asked me what grade I was in, in a tone clearly indicating her conviction that I must be at least two grades below her. With prayers, I smothered my immediate impulse to make a face like a sleep paralysis hag and bellow, […]
For grinded-teeth car rides; For growing up. For being beaten into pavement; To prove a point. For oily cat piss stains beneath the bed; For abandonment. For coins and green paper; To live in a shadow. For low-tide seas; For a shiny shell that breaks in a year. Litter lent my nose the scent […]
Things To Do To Make Yourself Feel Accomplished (Besides Running A Marathon) Submitting an essay Crossing things off a to-do list Sticking to a New Year’s Resolution Hitting 10K steps every day Making your bed in the morning Finishing a water bottle Getting out of bed Showering Getting an interview/job offer Actually showing up to […]
Up the tree, down the tree. Up the tree, down the tree. Freeze. There are eyes on me. If I don’t move, then I won’t be in danger. Up the tree…where’s the food? Shit, I don’t have any food. That’s not good. Down the tree again, and across the yard. There’s gotta be food somewhere. […]
TW: Eating Disorder, Bulimia I resent Caitlin for her name. It means pure, from the Gaelic, and she wears it like her Catholic school uniform. Tights, white collared polo, and a pleated skirt. I hate that skirt; the way Caitlin rolls it so that she doesn’t look like a prude but keeps it right above […]
Hey Tiff and Earl! As much as I love my family, I’m really nervous to go home for Thanksgiving. My family is going to ask me a ton of questions about everything, and I really don’t know what I want to do with my future/life. Any advice to help me feel a little better? Sincerely, […]
Content warning: graphic violence A shovel exuding the earth, Harking clouds, splattered in red– Judging which lays beneath dirt, God fearing pillar to man, Searing skies with treacherous stares, Branded children sway to a hurricane’s wind, Barely fogging outlines of a justice driven structure. Eventually the skies may clear, My grandmother told me, In an […]
I found an envelope today. It was pretty bent out of shape. The stamps collected on top of one another, Adding a raised texture to the paper’s surface. The penciled-in cursive has faded over the years, And there are small tears bordering the edges. Unopened, its surface has aged incredibly But the words sealed inside […]