Selfie
by LaMar Giles

Selfishness manifested with a hand or a stick
Erroneous interpretations of current relationships
Learning how to strike a pose and raise a nose
Forgetting how to socialize without a device
Inner most secrets are sad songs
Enclosed in a damaged instrument

 

 

 

Blood Sucker
by Emily Clarke

If my man thinks periods are gross, he ain’t my man no more. If my man is a fainter, he ain’t my man no more. If my man is scared of stains, he ain’t my man no more. If my man can’t walk into the tampon aisle without blushing like a child, he ain’t my man no more.

What? You think I’m playin? You think it’s a joke?

I wanna sleep with a mosquito. I wanna wed a leech. Be my Dracula. Drink my rust. If my man scared of blood, I kick him out of my house. Lock the door. If my man scared of blood I bleed in his bed. Ruin his pillow. If my man scared of blood I forget to flush the toilet. Let him see it. If my man scared of blood he scared of me.

I am blood! I am period! I am woman!
 

 

show and tell
by Sophie Gullett 

i brought my body to show and tell, showing tiny purple galaxies
and telling little. tommy prodded and poked,
pressing his marker stained finger deep into my arm.
i shooed him away like my yellow tipped cat
batting at my sock, hooking its claw on lace and pulling,
unraveling. everyone else brought something you could hold
but i bristled at the slightest wind and was never asked to join in red rover.
later on the playground they all agreed i should’ve brought my cat again
and let them take turns smashing the fur over her eyes
and draping her body over their arms and grabbing her tail and pulling,
unraveling. i kicked at gravel that stuck between the canals
of my barbie sneakers that they’d all laughed at when i passed them round the class
and with arms over prune colored skin i admitted a cat would’ve been more fun.

 

 

–

 

LaMar has studied art history in Paris, France and holds a BA in English from Rutgers University. Although he’s a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, LaMar is focused on releasing his first book of poetry in 2019.

 

Emily Clarke is a Cahuilla Native American Writer, Activist, Photographer, Zine Artist, and Traditional Dancer. Currently, Emily is studying at University of California Riverside. Her poetry has been featured in News From Native California and Four Winds Literary Journal.

 

Sophie Gullett currently lives in Colorado, where she is pursuing her graduate studies in psychology. She enjoys befriending stray fauna, collecting novelty socks, and dabbling in poetry.