Category: The Last Word

Poetry: “America!” by Margot Douaihy

THE OLD DAYS OH THEY WERE THE DAYS TRUE STORYUS KIDS BOLD AS THUNDER BACK THEN YOU KNOW AT MAIN & FIRST ST HE WAITED FOR US UNCLE SAMHIS GREASY HAIR HIS CRYSTAL-BALL EYES TRUST HIMGET READY KIDS HE SAID WE WERE READ GET READYWHERE MAIN MET FIRST SO MANY CARS TRUE STORYEXPLODING WITH TRAFFIC…
Three Poems by Elizabeth Weaver

psychotic denial of pregnancy My sister has a hand-sized birthmark the color of blood on her neckwhere the umbilical cord had been wrapped around her—her fist beneath, first of many quarrels with the world for a redhead born against the August heatwave and into this family. That day I had a fever, sprawled across found furniture and…
GIF Poem: “rorschach test insecure love poems for the 21st century” by Olivia Muenz

*Ed.’s Note: click image to view larger size. Olivia Muenz is an MFA candidate in creative writing at Louisiana State University. She received her BA from NYU and is currently the Digital Media Editor for New Delta Review. Her work is forthcoming in Salt Hill. @oliviamuenz.
Two Poems by Jason Phoebe Rusch

White Civilization In the wild, mothers eattheir young. Wolves maul those who disagree. Whydo we believe ourselves to be tender, reasoned,impartial? Why are we surprised by our feral, ouramoral, project our primeval onto those we rape and savage?We gratify ourselves. That is what animalsdo. Bare teeth and claws, hold each other down. The metric beingpower,…
Two Poems by Nancy Hightower

Resurrectionfor Jericho Death always wins. Despite sunsetand a blood moon calling for magic,there’s a small body leftin the field of lilacsand still more bodiesadrift on a forgotten sea,and he sings their namesin remembrance, wears a crownof flowers with half-cocked grinbecause tomorrow bringsnew tragedies like a promise. Still, he believesin the prophecy of rain,blesses the descentfrom…
Essay: “You’re Not Dead” by Reverie Koniecki

Don’t you think it’s creepy that your name is written there and you’re not dead? I ask. Why do you say that? my mother responds. I guess I’m just not ready to die, I say. We are looking down at my sister’s new gravestone. It is a rectangle with her name, birthdate, and of course…
Short Story: “Bombing from Above” by Alex Kudera

In Xi’an, China, I had the runs. It had gone on for two days, and I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t stop going. In the middle of the night, I’d dash to our apartment’s American-style toilet bowl where it would pour out like a Biblical flood. On a stifling bus—one sardine among many—the urge would…
Short Story: “the lies the silence tells” by Carolina Meurkens

These days your arms are covered in tiny red scratches. You can’t seem to get any work done without Jonah anchoring her claws into you. It hurts but you let her. Until it starts to feel good, that point right before she punctures your skin. You’re beginning to enjoy this pain of being needed. Which…
Flash Nonfiction: “Cancer is missing” by L Scully

I You meet them when they get off the metro. You can’t tell who they are because you’ve only seen photos of them online, but the one with the mullet and 80s windbreaker comes up to you easily enough. They look better online. They’re standing with a man and speaking in your not-quite second language…