Category: The Last Word

Three Poems by Jill M. Talbot

They Put My Name in a Museum There are just as many in the “write what you know”and the “write what you don’t” camps, like protestorswho don’t realize their signs are the same, only indifferent languages: duck or rabbit. They put my name in a museum, and I was foolishenough to complain that they described…
“x is God,” a poem by Success Akpojotor

L = R L + x = R + xL – x = R – xL(x) = R(x), x not abhorrence L/x = R/x, x not loathing the equation is in turmoil tossed to the floor like a drunk, reeling to and fro. but the golden rule of equation commands: do unto the left side…
“slice,” a poem by Savannah Slone

Now is the time to grab your eggshell paint Pray that you won’t get it in your eyes when you stroke it across your face. Your face that has seen Your face that ought not be seen If it gets in your eyes, you might miss the removal of a hijab Two men kissing in shame White pointed hats…
Three Poems by Aeon Ginsberg

Tending the night of theelection I’m in a cavepouring potions no,I’m pouring Gin andTonics and instead ofdrinking I’m not evendrinking water and Ithink dehydration is aform of self-care in aweird fucked up waywhere I don’t knowhow to handle beingalive until I have toreset myself. drinkwater first and screamlater or scream first until the voice is…
Fiction: Andrew D. Hwang’s “Race to the Finish”

I should never have gotten stuck on the team with Jerry, Race, and Donnybrook. We didn’t know any of the same people, never saw eye to eye. Jerry was an oily creep. Race carried a photographer’s gray scale in his back pocket, pulled it out constantly to judge human worth. Donnybrook was expert at nothing…
Four Poems by Hazem Fahmy

Summer Soundtrack: For Death, Despite Summer beginsand with it the paradeof bodies the earth demands. I drown out death with Imam and Miles Davis. There, the trumpet blared, all noise and glory—melancholic confetti. Here, I sitswinging my legs like a hammer in and out of the wall violently. Look, the camera encroaches: close-up on the…
Two Poems by Kai Coggin

Still (in two parts) I. I find myself lately usingthe word stilllikethere are still flowers,there are still trees,there is still laughter,there is still the silent moon that watches our dark movementsthere are still moments of wonder that can take your breath and turn it magic a lake freezing the sounds it echoes from beneath the changing…
“Daughter’s Lament,” a poem by Candice Kelsey

“The ways in which I am my mother’s daughter are infinite.” ~ Roxane Gay I’m just a blueprint spread across the drafting table like warm butter only I do not melt under your heavy stone palms pressing my corners. Your red pencil a sun dial ready to cast shadows on my body this body…
Poetry: Rebecca Street’s “Sixth Sense”

1. GustationIf I was the one screaming, you were the one covering my mouth. Call this an oversight, if you will. I was too loose. I was shaken, not stirred. I was free and handed to you by a stranger. Remember when you replaced the racket in my hand with a baseball bat? Skull cracks.…