Oh, how it happenssoft as lover’s touchthere you are againclutching cooling clothesas they wheel her limp body offyour name on her dry lipsan entreaty; help mewhen you cannotno act of kindness, sufficientfor suffering has its own brand of losswe all tumble togetherto a place of mysterywhere I may leave this small tiled building one daywithout […]

Quiet reminder of horror – Candice Louisa Daquin

He skims away from the school bus, skateboard under one arm, plaid pajama bottoms flap the news; another day closer to July and no shooter. A dragon blocks the book store entrance, her face’s skin rutted burnt roads. Faded kerchief around her head, stockings ladder her legs, lace-up black heels for stomping. She brandishes a […]

An Unquiet Mind: Curse of the Virgin- Rachael Z. Ikins

You countthe gray strandson my blonde headtenderly.Say: “Aging is deathromancingthe body.”Coming from you, dear?It’s almosta compliment. Photo by Fabien TWB on Unsplash

A Woman Past Her Prime – Allister Nelson

I do not believesambas don’t illuminate your day,that quartets remain in concert hallsor jazz ensembles don’t pursue youthrough the brazen grocery aislesdemanding you break 4/4 timewith artichoke maracas.How do word-pounded pagesnot scream in your ears?How do you not narrate every habitualnuance of every simplest task?Do you even know what colorAugust is? What shape 9tastes like? […]

An Unquiet Mind – Tamara Fricke

Spill the tea, Miss HavishamDine on the moldering wedding cakeSip grief from your dusty tea cupsScatter the dried rose petalsfrom your musty bridal bouquetover the gossamer spider websand candle wax drippingsAll that once was and will never beis hidden behind your tattered virgin veilOnly the mice that nip anguishfrom your festering fleshknow the heartbreakyour tongue […]

Pip’s Last Visit – Trisha Leigh Shufelt

An unquiet mind doesn’t mind what you say won’t care where you go as long as you stay The pulsing, the screaming, The aching, the dreaming Memories of shadows permeate sight not in danger at all, poised to take flight Headphones and static and noise all around can’t shut out the anchors pulling me down […]

An Unquiet Mind – Matthew Eayre

A shadow in the frame—Always, always….No escape possible.Eternal, its strengthand size shifting at timesto delicate and nothing much,fooling me into believingI have emerged, triumphant.Yet, the shadow,no matter how faint,is never conquered,and I am never triumphant.Whispering,spitingits white noise poisonsinto my earas it stands, faintly seen,behind me,exercising strengthnot humanover the fifty yearsof truth I have livedto cast […]

The Well of Childhood Haunting – Annette Kalandros