JULY 2026 / ISSUE 53

The Things I Would Do If You Walked Through That Door

by AD Nolan

I'd put your entire body in my mouth. Not all at once, but / a slow devouring. I'd start with the edges, and I wouldn't / be gentle because if you walked through…

Blood Sullied by the Sovereign Will

by Isra Hassan

I wore a cardigan to hide my excavated heart, forced / to make way for a diorama, one that stores pride / for an America I lured people to think I believed in….

Appalachia

by Beth Uzwiak

I have not washed for days. I cannot part with the stench of you. I cannot sluice the stains. We are raw before the jar, ripe before the knife. Rind me….

Incisor

by Bess Fernandez

what i want is what my body says it needs,
cause effect
stinging nettles…

Blue Lollypop Ritual

by Melissa Leto

What I want is another body under
my hands, for the salt of them
to flood all the walls and wells of me…

Dancing Girl

by Kelly Thompson

We’ve locked eyes and I can’t believe this girl whose heart, like mine, can’t be cloistered. Her laugh strikes like a match, and mine ignites hers — a laugh that…