Mama Says – by Finnian Burnett

Wedge your keys between second and first finger, Mama says,
with a thumb pressed against the back of the key.

Human Parcels – by Fiona Clark

Hidden in my right shoe’s hollow heel, a gold watch ticks.

Beneath my under-bodice, neatly stitched, my mother’s

turquoise ring. The water in the harbour coils, black ink

What Will You Say? – by Andrew Shaughnessy

Should warmth be a word reserved to the world of touch? Laughter

and joy, reserved to the world of emotion?

Thoughts and Prayers – by Renee Cronley

The pungent scent of sulfur

fires out from the gangrenous fumes

of societal decay we don’t smell anymore

I Sensed It Was Beginning – I Sensed It Was Ending – by Lindsey Harrington

The burnt roast from yesterday hanging in the air,
another, in a long list of disappointments.

“So, what does teen spirit smell like, anyways?” – by Katharine Weinmann

In my day, pot and patchouli perfumed bedrooms and back seats.
Sandalwood incense bought by donation from dubious Hare Krishna monks
chanting on the corner.

Want – by Oskar Westin

What could become of us? A broken child and a 30-year-old father of two girls.

Abandoned – by Andi Myles

I think maybe
I will–if only to play
at Mary Magdalene.

transgender- by Crow

do you see yourself in the mirroror a different person entirely?do wide hips and a full chest look good to you on othersbut never on yourself?do you find yourself “accidentally”walking into the “wrong” bathroom?do you get strange looks when you name intereststhat are seen as “tomboyish?”do your eyes turn greenwhen you try to wear rose-tinted […]

I Should Have Asked Sooner – by Gabby Gilliam

She looks beyond the fire to the flat surface of the lake. There is little in the way of moon and stars tonight, but lights from the lodge on the opposite shore glimmer on the water’s skin. In her eyes, the dancing amber flames ripple.