By Michelle Rochniak the flaky bones of ocean monsters’ preysift through the currents to my doorstep.the firewood of the merpeople village burns:opal-toned marrow ash. they said fire girls can’t have scaly tails;when i flap my flukes at the sun,their cerulean turns scarlet. it’s funny how scorpio soundslike a fire sign. i collect the bonesto earnContinue reading “the flamed mermaid”
Tag Archives: poetry
What is the Body but an Instrument?
*CW: mentions of self-harm and death By T.C. Anderson How long would it take to scratch my skin until I began to feel bone,to pluck the tendons like guitar strings andhear my body’s sweet melodies?For what is the body but an instrument of destruction and chaos,a tool to inflict its misery on the worldwith hopeContinue reading “What is the Body but an Instrument?”
Dig
TW: Mention of blood By Kelli Lage I dig out parts of you I don’t need any more / parts made up of your eye color and flint they mixed with / and the day your lip was bloodied by demons of your own making / still you hunt for glory in my dreamland /Continue reading “Dig”
Hoosier Balladry
Content Warning: The themes discussed in this piece include historical references to slavery and the Trail of Tears. By M.A. Dubbs The verse of this cityis seeped deep into the pores of itslimestone foundation. The first Hoosiers were stripped of land and homebut prose, inherited fromspoken word, was preserved.A history of generations handwoven into geometric narratives. African folktale,Continue reading “Hoosier Balladry”
April 4, 1969
By Paige Wyatt My mother leans into my shoulderA towering force shielding me From the way the world has treated herHolding the sky up with her shouldersForced to kneel when she was queen to lesser men She is not diminished now Her strength has bled into meHer hands have worked me and shaped meShe has passed herContinue reading “April 4, 1969”
poetry
By Tiffany Shull Peterson described academically rhythmic, metaphoric, lyrical described artisticallya sunset, birth, justice formed organicallyfree verse, intuition framed intentionallysonnet, haiku, an ode academically, artisticallyorganically, intentionally the poet begets the poembut life begets poetry
Don’t Look
By Kaitlynn McShea Don’t lookat the dead animals on the crumbling concrete. They rest in between the blackened road and the untamed grass. We’re not meant to witness this. You will turn up the radio and stare straight ahead, knuckles white on the steering wheel. And you will see a gaping maw out of the corners of your eyes, Reminding you ofContinue reading “Don’t Look”
a feast of women
CW: death By C. Cimmone Learn more about C. in her bio on the Featured Author page.
12/24
By Raegen Pietrucha My favorite ornaments distort me to an impossible glitter, frosted silver slivers. I still remember winter trees,how their snowmelt crackledas if somewhere, a fire already called. It hasn’t yet been a year. I don’t missMidwestern cold. But there was a boy in the place I left behind – he had always seemed imperviousin his thinContinue reading “12/24”
Three Lucky Limericks
CW: language By Tiffany Shull Peterson I once wrote a poem about luckBut I found myself feeling stuckThe words they would not flowThe deadline did loom thoughAnd that is why this poem will suck There once was a doggo named LuckWhose owner did not give a fuckIf he ran ‘round the townLifting his leg likeContinue reading “Three Lucky Limericks”
Heartland Society of Women Writers 