DAVID CAPPS | WHERE’S NEW HAVEN?
Where’s New Haven?
On the walk from Gray Matter to The Graduate, and past the couple on the steps singing a light-hearted jingle about Adderall, we overhear an old man asking, “Where’s New Haven?”
LISA PIAZZA | A SHADOW, A SNAKE
A Shadow, a Snake
It’s not every day you see a bald eagle at Serene Lakes, but I’ve seen a few before. Flying, perched in trees, their white feathers showing or skimming the lake to grab some trout, then speed off.
MICHAEL CONNER | LOVE POEM FOR THE NEOLIBERAL AGE
Love Poem for the Neoliberal Age
I don’t want to be radicalized by terror.
I want to feed mourning doves
from the palm of my hand in spite of it.
AARON LELITO | MUD AND LOTUS
Mud and Lotus
Reading passages in the back seat
in a parking lot
after dark.
LIAM STRONG | OBJECTIVE TRUTHS, OBJECTIVE TRUTHS
objective truths??? objective truths.
like any fable your story
begins with a cup of soup
signifying goodness. positivity. as in:
the audience is prepared
for an unhappy ending.
ELLA GRIM | ACCIDENTAL SUMMONING, PARIS METRO
Accidental Summoning, Paris Metro
before I was told the unspoken rule
about not looking people in the eyes,
you were there on the bench at Oberkampf
HARLEY CHAPMAN | SELF-CARE SATURDAY
Self-Care Saturday
My knowing-better loops elbows
with fuck-it-I-don’t-care
& we choose a linen dress
that shows the silhouette of our ass
ELENA ENDER | (BAD) DAILY HOROSCOPES
(Bad) Daily Horoscopes
Aquarius: Do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
JEN SCHNEIDER | OF RULES (AND RULERS)
Of Rules (and Rulers)
my friend
believed rules
were meant to be broken
GLEN ARMSTRONG | HELP WANTED
Help Wanted
Can you help me find somebody to help me?
Somebody to love? Somebody to fix
a sink who won’t overcharge me? Enlarge
me? Make love to me as if waxing a car?
JILLIAN VAN HEFTY | THE FIVE USELESS LOVE LANGUAGES
Fourth-Grade Book Report: The Five Useless Love Languages
“Quality time” means being pressured into spending your day with someone when you would rather do more important stuff alone. A good example of this is cruise ship commercials.
NATHAN NICOLAU | RE: CANARIES
Re: Canaries
for Yasunari Kawabata
Dear sir,
I have to confess that there are still things I do not know.
CAITLIN JOHNSON | TWO POEMS
Two Poems
"Diorama of A Life I Never Lived"
"How I Got Rid of My Mississippi Accent"
DEVON BALWIT | SPIRITS AND DIVINE FORCES
Spirits and Divine Forces
I’ve got the God-eye and shit,
he said in his ashwagandha t-shirt.
MICHAEL MORAN | SELF-LEARNING TO CARE
Self-Learning to Care
Server Offering Lenity and Constant Empathy (S.O.L.A.C.E.)
The One You’ll Need in Your Time of Need
Stay Connected —Fully Integrated across All Platforms
MAYA JACYSZYN | THE FIG TREE
The Fig Tree
We have figs this year
leading up to the weeks of your passing.
All my life, I knew trees that were barren,
ever since you planted them.