Category: 13th Edition
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The Farewell
Take me in your arms, don’t let go of me. Hug me until fear and pain leave my mind. I will be your voice and the strength that you lost. I will achieve the justice you deserve. Give me this moment to frame your essence. I want to retain the warmth of your hands, and…
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It’s 2 AM
My hair is wet My air is frigid My floor is ice My floor is lava My legs are noodles My bed is spikes My ears are bells My breath is hot My skin is hotter My light is blinding My fan is loud My clock is louder My project is unfinished My pen is…
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one more theory about grief
CONTENT WARNING – Death After Paul Guest That it will come to me in the most inopportune moments: when I’m thinking of kissing my now ex-boyfriend, when I’m brushing my teeth, when I pass the golf course where we went on our only real date. That I don’t want to live the rest of my…
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Ode to Chuck
Light upon a new day Arrives with the Forcefulness of none. My dear friends, Twice a drink On Budweiser beer Has rendered me A hapless fool. Yet beautiful poetry, You say? Well, I Say This in sincere response: The man you Doth not know Also does know The world for Its cruel paths. Zane Bell…
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Kings and Queens
We were kings and queens Once upon a time in Africa, the motherland Black skin was our pride and we had power in our hand We walked freely on our native land, breathing pure air into our lungs We built kingdoms that were spoken to life with our native tongues We had great power over…
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I want to…
I want to see the people I love, to hug them without gloves, and devour the world with my beloved. I want to smile with my mouth uncovered, without feeling smothered. I want to take the hand of my lover, to feel that I hover, forgetting the suffer, and to go out on the street…
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Execution for a Rose
For once I wish for time to pass Just to heal the waiting that seems to last I yearn to grow wiser so that I can feel the sweet wind Because to be young and know of too much is promiscuous sin I have broken commandments in the past, but this one is grand Stepped…
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why I didn’t make a #metoo post
CONTENT WARNING – Sexual assault I’m sorry. I love you. He’s sorry. He gets like that. He feels really bad for putting you in that situation I’ve talked to him about it He keeps like, sobbing on my bed That’s a really strong word You can’t take it back. Maybe don’t use that word If…
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Jayber’s Poem, Inspired by Wendell Berry’s novel Jayber Crow
To those about to deconstruct or analyze Their wisp of life on earth: Take heed, Lest ye interpret your self As something understandable. To you I say: What do you make Of love That floats, unspoken That settles between Old friends That stands at the threshold, But never takes a chair? Have you met the…
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Die Well, Like Trees
Everyone I know Is learning to let go Of something Or someone They love. Hope becomes unclear, And then it reappears. Life is sweet And out of control. Like trees we’re stretched over ourselves, Love inscribed in our cells. We’re falling, Leaving our rings to those left behind. We’re trying to die well. Teach us…
Arrow Rock Literary Journal 