Rakpabon (รักษ์ป่าบอน) Ashley Mangtani __________ I do not know them, and they do not know me. The men in the brown trucks call me by a name a clerk typed onto a card. Jeab Rakpabon (เจี๊ยบ รักษ์ป่าบอน) Printed on me like a warning. I am the Protector of Pa Bon…
Read MoreGage Baldwin __________ Invisible Countries Words don’t live long outside the body,Not most of them, anyway. I can tell who is family By the tension behind their teeth The hesitance in their step Like a sinner sneaking back Amongst the gods. Do not believeTheir honeyed Words, let them hang In the air and die. We…
Read MoreJoe Bishop __________ Vacancy This grand hotel has lost its headand the maids march on strike for hazard paycircling parking-lot sinkholes Anarchy overthrew the maître d’Light & Power cut lights and powerThe star rating slips by the hourBaroque wallpaper peels like stage makeup Chef pisses in the soup du jourHis duck a…
Read MoreDustin Brookshire __________ Drifting Villanelle a collaborative, contoured villanelle using W.H. Auden’s “If I Could Tell You”,written with Joshua Barnes Tomorrow is Monday. Say it ain’t so!But there are, unfortunately, bills to payand so much in this world that I don’t know. I could tell you; instead, let me showhow…
Read MoreLetter from the Guest Editor Robbie Hess __________ Happy 2026 Pride, y’all! I am so excited for everyone to see this wonderful Pride issue we have curated this year. It has been such an honor for me to read through all the incredible submissions we received. This year, we tripled…
Read MoreHer Treat Antonia Cardinale __________ Through a series of unfortunate events- that if to be written down would take up an entire novel- I manage to find myself shopping for a Catholic school-appropriate dress to wear to my senior prom. The absolute last thing I wanted to do this weekend…
Read MoreAugust Helpling __________ Family Name Glinting with sweat and glitter from the club dance floor,a friend sits across from me at the diner and says,I’m nonbinary, but I don’t think I can call myself trans,it feels like I haven’t earned it. How I delightthen to tell the tale of the…
Read MoreThe Best Man Lio Kammueller __________ The sky outside the windows is still dark when I stumble into the kitchen, and the air smells like rubbing alcohol and weak coffee. The high-pitched voices of Brady’s calm acoustic folk music play out loud, floating over the table where he’s scattered his…
Read MoreMarianne Alanie Lacy __________ Inspired by the painting “Marianne” by Karl Hubbuch My mornings are often dark when they needn’t be. I’ve never been a morning person. I sleep through alarms and grumble through breakfast. But today, today is different. Today, my morning is golden. A rich, orange-toned golden that…
Read MoreThe Rubik’s Cube Eleanor Levine __________ My sister Adelaide got me a Rubik’s Cube for Hanukkah. Every year she and her wife get me whatever is on sale at Aldi. One year it was three bags of coffee that I threw out, though I could have taken them to my…
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