Author Archives: voicemailpoems

by Emily S. Cooper He had created a type of 3d paint,was one of the first things he told us. As we followed him upstairs to his plantfilled apartment, we decided he was lying. It wasn’t long until he told us about Mexico;kidnapped by cartels, held hostage for weeks, his father and grandfather were mercenariesinContinue reading “Marseille”

by Wimpy AF “when you see a mountain coming,get out of it’s way.”my uncle, six-two and oxentold me after clipping my wing. i learn at an early ageto be a black manis to see a black manand fear his size, momentum. to love a black man is to seehis shape and surrender.i lay myself downonContinue reading “Say Uncle”

by Elysia Lucinda Smith My mother calls them phases and maybethat’s an accurate representation becausethey’re lunar, edges of something, the kindof scrambling you do drunk in the dark.It’s a lot of being drunk in the dark. I’m dying to discover myself and finallybe cool. I’m smoking. I’m smoking hot.I’m a smoking gun. I went outContinue reading “HI, I’M OVULATING”

by Joseph S. Pete All soldiers believe Charms in their MREs are foul luck, bad juju,more than just a dark talisman, a virtual death sentence.Patrols have been called off if some dirtbag privatestraight out of basictested fate by peeling open a pack of the generic Jolly Ranchers knockoffs that bring nothing but doom. Everyone on theContinue reading “Charms”

by Zach Blackwood my head is full of blood steamed like latte foampressing open the seams in my skull, burning through folds in my brain like a shot luge. my head is the generating station in the delaware river,developed into luxury condos with beds that fill the whole homes.my head is a smoking suite with smokeContinue reading “whelp (after aziza barnes)”

by Kirwyn Sutherland Klu klux what?I’m a suchA tool for America Hands scraped rawHammered deep into cottonFly up and it rains goldI’m a MidasBut was forced to turnInanimate objects into fortuneTo fields of green pickedOver and rottenI’m a supposedDead used problemBoth birth and demiseAllegedBetween trying to killAnd forgetting aboutI’ma question A poking to see if I writheHowContinue reading “Taunts to the Klan”

by Sam Rush & for Kai It snowed last week & the clouds slept lower.I wonder where your body went without you,who unraveled it & what came falling from their mouths. I think of you; a weighted sky; dirt, loosening itself in welcome; what it is to bury: to deem ready to give back; to kill: to call aContinue reading “Sonnet for Trans Lifeline & February 2017”

by Dana Whtvr I set down my flaming sword long enough to stare intoa hunting trip photo at my Grandfather’s memorial. It shows two men, and him between them ina dress and wig-hilarious joke (everyonelaughed), “abomination” an Unclescoffs casual-like now, tells story: “that’s the ugliest womanI ever saw” man driving by says to man in passengerContinue reading “A SHINING EXAMPLE OF HOW AN HONEST, KIND, STRONG, AND RESPONSIBLE MAN LIVES HIS LIFE”

Dana Whtvr Sam Rush Kirwyn Sutherland Zach Blackwood Joseph S. Pete Elysia Lucinda Smith Wimpy AF Emily S. Cooper Melissa Eleftherion Aleida M Cathleen Allyn Conway Allison Hummel Mariel Fechik E.G. Cunningham Robyn Campbell

by Andy Powell Sons blushed and became soft peaches in the hot backseats of cars, never even wanted the front seat. Or, I was the son, but it’s nice to be plural and grand and count the dandelions in right field as friends, which I picked in the ancient way of boys who’s fathers triedContinue reading “An Embarrassment of Dandelions”