Kiersa Berg The colorful lines, criss-crossing and zig-zagging go where they’re getting. Wrapped in a bed sheet, he asks, “where’s Crate & Barrel?” Needs their white china. Yelling at the moon, Or the fluorescent above. “is He at this stop?” Walk down the aisle exchanging a wedding vow for a pack of squares. Sweethearts never… Read More Haikus for the Howard Heat Lamps

Xinyuan (Joyce) Pu There is “water” in my Chinese name and there is “joy” in my English name but I cannot have both in one name without losing the other; There is family (家) in a country (国家) there is no opening (kaī) in leaving (lí kaī) I cannot find the exact word to say… Read More Ritual Reintegration

Ginny Ip thrice floating around the sun a half-formed thing in rioting wind feet rooted here but headspace over there too dizzying to love anywhere from a distance. twice ricocheting between worlds a growing thing in planetary ring wilting here but blossoming over there a mass-made melancholy everywhere from a distance. once uprooting herself became… Read More immigration

Maya Jurgens Golden rays of sun crown the bluffs along the bay, and illuminate stretching fields of persimmon poppies that wave their petals at seagulls soaring free above. The waves below the cliffs reflect cascades across the brilliant blue, like the twinkling in my mother’s kind brown eyes when she first brought me here to… Read More Flying with Seagulls

Nathan Omprasadham I want to tell you I love you In a way That does not Include me But my first word was I and I Want to say I’m sorry But that’s also about me So instead I’ll tell you mama oyata aadarei So there is nothing between us, And the love follows suit,… Read More Love, Language

Natalia Wang It could all be in my mind. But I’m sure It was him next to me, us on the bus, Clawing at each other for cold comforts That ruined everything unspoken – the Tentative, shared ache tying me to you. Out of the corner of my eye I saw You crunch at the… Read More It could all be in my mind

Carolyne Geng                 Everything is orange when you find the day to stop crying. It’s not easy, believe me. It’s not a simple flourish, bend, and snap that dusts off the shards of rock on your chest, weathered by time. If anything, it’s this:        … Read More October 7, 4:09 AM: you might love you

Xinyuan (Joyce) Pu “How can you hold so much suffering in me?” i asked my body. water ran back into my eyes i saw the first streak of morning light, my body wanted me to sleep but my brain kept me awake. crying is a bad thing i turned on the tap: cold water running… Read More What i Learned from My Body

Kandace Mack The black-skinned figures gather in the dark. Green leaves turn red then blue then red again. Paint stained pavement stretches on for miles.             Cracked with pain                        Crime and Punishment The scales of justice never skewed their… Read More Pain Cycle

Mariama Pouye Elijah McClain said i’m just different that’s all i’m so sorry And when I read those words my heart split open and Three thousand pomegranate seeds poured out, A puking parade of red rubies. forgive me. all I was trying to do was become better. After the rubies came wells, Empty canals, ridges:… Read More Under “The Sunrise of Colorado”