Creative Pieces in this issue: Wet: A Comic by Grady Scott None Remains the Same by Ava Grant Tapers and Panes by Paulo Lombardi Postcards: an Anthology of Raw, Genuine Confessions by Sofia Segura Reservations by Paulo Lombardi Empery X Couple by Jason Wu
None Remains the Same by Ava Grant
None Remains the Same By: Ava Grant As the leaves transform to Snow and hot cocoa As the snow converts to Pollen and cherry blossoms As the pollen turns to Beaches and palm trees Which turns back to leaves To ash
As matter cannot be created Nor destroyed We are quick to understand Things remain in balance Yet these laws of our universe Make clear things can shift Matter can be exchanged To forms we might be unable to disguise
As it is claimed “Change is destructive Disastrous Detrimental To our world” It is unavoidable It is pure It is the one thing That will always be there
We wish to keep things the same Yet through that Trials and tribulations shape the way Everything From the unwrapping of a bow, The music authored by choirs appearing at ones front door, Gatherings of blood, Stakeouts for a jolly old man with a beard white as snow, The dreams we dream of sugarplums and little people with pointed ears
None remains the same None remains lost None remains to be found
Tradition remains consistent Yet every-changing As our world continues its ever-constant orbit Around the star that brings us light Things never change Yet never remain the same
Tapers and Panes by Paulo Lombardi
Not a sound nor susurration comes from the lea-- cottages rest stilly, and smoke wades through the balmy night sky.
Windows stay sealed, doors remain closed; quails cross a grainfield, tapers flicker interposed between steamy panes.
Ravens flit out of her way as she floats gracefully past a timeworn mill that holds ground and ground holds.
Poppies bloom afresh; the sun moves sky-high; wheat stalks enmesh as she begins to run by and ascend off the shesh.
Postcards: an Anthology of Raw, Genuine Confessions by Sofia Segura
Hey lovely! You make poetry fall from my lips like melted popsicle off its stick Quickly working to make childrens hands sweet and sticky. Old philosophers used to prattle on about how we need art to live as opposed to just surviving (that’s a touch cliche though, so don't tell anyone that I think about cliche things– being cliche is my biggest fear you know?) What is art? Other than a slice of lemon cheesecake with two forks? Is it us? You're full of so much poetry– when I think about you I become poetry. That’ll never change. Yours, Sofia
My Dearest, If you asked me to dip my hands into a bleeding universe and grab a burning star for you, I would. I would do so much for you, not that you even ask for it. But here I am, yet again, at your mercy. Lucky for me, I know you'd swim miles deep into a tsunami to pry open oysters and rescue pearls for me. In that way, we are, again, the same person. Yours, Sofia.
Dear [...], There's such a vibrancy to the city, it makes me feel alive. I've been thinking about sensuality recently, so many lovers caught up on the streets Finding each other, making a home between strangers. To want intimacy, or the vulnerability of connection is such a basic human instinct. We are wired with this burning desire for one another, So for as complex as it is, it's also ingrained, innate, in us. Isn’t that compelling? I think desperation takes passion. I miss you. You feel forever and a half away. Yours, Sofia
Reservations by Paulo Lombardi
I don’t want to overcome grief lest I forget them. But I must.
I don’t want to tell the truth lest I be rebuked. But I must.
I don’t want to propose my ideas lest they be rejected. But I must.
I don’t want to apologize lest I not be forgiven. But I must.
I don’t want to take that risk lest I fail armly. But I must.
I don’t want to have that conversation lest it ruins our relationship. But I must.
I don’t want to get off the couch lest I end my record-breaking binge. And I mustn’t.
Empery X Couple by Jason Wu
Note to the reader: Chapter one is posted in the February 2022 edition under a different title. (link here)