By Salvatore Difalco After my ship-in-a-bottle succumbedto self-engendered thunderstorms,I turned to war and fashioned a workcomposed of pheasant skulls and bones,some blackened with charcoal or blood,all gathered under a classic glass cloche.Battles and wars, battles and wars,that is how I approached this probeinto the darker country of man,ranging the skulls like gas masks,stitching feathers and … Continue reading Stormtroopers Advancing Under Glass
Memory Cells
By Luchang Zhu Are there two identical clouds in the sky?If not,why does this one feel familiar, like a cloud from my hometown returning unannounced?Are there two identical people on the planet?If not,why does your presence stir something in me, like B cells recognizing a second encounter?Are there two identical days in a life?If not,why … Continue reading Memory Cells
How You Know I’m Goofing Off and Not Around
By James Croal Jackson Because I’ll be standing on a stackof tasks, procrastinatingunder the banana moongrabbing the confetti tailof sun in one hand, and in the otherpetting the catof my dreams, the one stillwith wings, purringas it falls to sleep. James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet working in film production. His latest chapbook is A … Continue reading How You Know I’m Goofing Off and Not Around
The Drift
By Dhaanvi Jaipuriar The tide isn’t coming in; it’s a slow hemorrhageleaking through the floorboards, a salt-crustcalcifying the mahogany until the room is a reefof everything you’ve tried to bury.You navigate a hallway of doors that openinto more hallways, each one tapering,smelling of damp cedar and the ozone-stinkof a storm that refuses to break.A sturgeon … Continue reading The Drift
Sunday Night
By Julia Vaughan Pizza or ThaiIndian or ChineseI don’t feel like cookingThe end ofA winter weekendLazyThe fire’s onBeach walked this morningWith beanies onA bracing bitter windSunday’s rugby’s on TVWatching the Newcastle KnightsFiercely defending against the Auckland WarriorsHot fresh popcorn for startersDeliciously coatedBaz’s recipe of TabascoCashew nut butter and hoisin saucePizza wins tonightAnd Woolies’ naughtyLoaded lemon-poppyseed … Continue reading Sunday Night
Before the Sea
By Muskan Singh A dark night,the edge of the sea—there sits a girl,drowned in a deep calm.Gazing at the open sky,with a quiet smileresting in her eyes.There is no fear of losing,no longing to gain—only a patiencelike the waves of the seashimmering within her.Even in the darkest nights,she continues to shinewith a lightof her own.
I’m lying down but I can’t sleep.
By Luca Zani It’s one thirty-eight in the morning. In your sleep, you shift your knee to a position that looks like the night terrors of a chiropractor. You’re blocking the tv, but I was only listening to the audio anyway. I refuse to believe this is comfortable for you. In your sleep, you smile … Continue reading I’m lying down but I can’t sleep.
Blue Horse
By Yucheng Tao in my dream; its strong body,like a horse on the prairie,like a cowboy's horse.It could fight, it could run.In our hearts,we once rode a blue horsein our dreams,galloping in the land of freedom.Some pain was like a lean horse,running fast for a moment before collapsing.Because my sister and I—our memories didn’t fade.There … Continue reading Blue Horse
On the Prowl
By Mary Bone Smokey eyes in a darkened cave,mesmeric, moltenwith a glowing shine.Shades of bronze,and a warm glow.A mountain lion peers out.He is on the prowl. Mary Bone has had poetry published at The Academy of the Heart and Mind, Active Muse Journal, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Verse Virtual, Bottlecap Press and other places. Upcoming poetry … Continue reading On the Prowl
Key West
By Luchang Zhu On a bleak winter afternoon,I sat alone in a Panda Express in Illinois.A fortune cookie whispered:“You will cross mountains and oceansand find your way to warmth.”So I flew to Key West—the balmy Conch Republic,where time moves slow as amber honey.Morning found me—sunlight sifting through mist,softening into golden silk.A drunk slept against a … Continue reading Key West
Academy of the Heart And Mind 