SOCIAL ISSUES 6/10

Dec 2, 20221 min read

There's a Wildfire in Siberia, a Poem by Tanya Tuzeo

garbage belches out tinsel dinnerware in celebration of yet another dinner Doordashed. since leftovers are not enough for tomorrow’s...

Life and Liberty in America 2022 AD, a Poem by Melissa Brander

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Nov 25, 20221 min read

Life and Liberty in America 2022 AD, a Poem by Melissa Brander

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. But there is nothing right or seemly that those we have asked to die are doctors. teachers....

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Nov 18, 20221 min read

Block, a Poem by Erin Covey-Smith

The blank slate where I want to write sorrow for the black bodies taken, where I want to write worry for the invisible vector tornadoeing...

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Nov 11, 20221 min read

Walker, a Poem by Gary Beck

The doctor keeps telling me: ‘Go out. Get some fresh air. Talk to people.' I tried to tell him I have no friends, they’re all dead. He...

You Shouldn’t Breathe This In, a Short Story by Stan Kempton

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Nov 4, 20224 min read

You Shouldn’t Breathe This In, a Short Story by Stan Kempton

Brevity and small encounters are how I would describe my relationship with Mr. Freeze. I nicknamed him like a pet, there in my limited...

Sitting in Darkness, a Poem by Russell Willis

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Oct 28, 20221 min read

Sitting in Darkness, a Poem by Russell Willis

If you are sitting in darkness open your eyes turn around to see if there’s light behind you or above or below or to the side not that...

The Lost House, a Poem by Farideh Shabanfar

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Oct 14, 20221 min read

The Lost House, a Poem by Farideh Shabanfar

Sister is pleading with her friend; Send me a picture of our house Our old house that we abandoned Without a farewell, with hope to...

Logging Off? Creative Non-fiction by Hazel J. Hall

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Sep 24, 20222 min read

Logging Off? Creative Non-fiction by Hazel J. Hall

Yeah, 10 hours yesterday / I am happy though / (happier than most) / Satisfied, even / I mean, the rush is never as strong as the first...

Extras From a Movie: Ludlow Massacre, 1914, a Poem by Lenore Weiss

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Sep 9, 20222 min read

Extras From a Movie: Ludlow Massacre, 1914, a Poem by Lenore Weiss

1. The ghost girl was Little Lucy, no connection to Lucille Ball, flashed her dimples, red hair on the Capitol Mall, wore smoke-soaked...

The Twisted Inversion of Labor-Bought Dreams, an Essay by Haile E.

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Aug 26, 20226 min read

The Twisted Inversion of Labor-Bought Dreams, an Essay by Haile E.

As we entered high school and began preparing for the next four years that would culminate in either an acceptance or rejection to our...

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Jul 29, 20221 min read

Buddy, Microfiction by Hazel J. Hall

Between the wire-barbed bar, lens cap of his life, he can see a worker approaching his cage. This time, she does not offer him food. She...

Insomnia, a Poem by Christina E. Petrides

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Jul 15, 20221 min read

Insomnia, a Poem by Christina E. Petrides

My stomach warm with bread, milk, honey chamomile, I lie down at midnight. Three hours thence I stare dry-eyed into the black air beyond...

Abortion: A Morality Story, an Essay by Kimberly L. Robinson

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Jun 29, 20228 min read

Abortion: A Morality Story, an Essay by Kimberly L. Robinson

This is for the Church. I do not, as a rule, object to anyone of any persuasion reading my humble prose. So, Taoists, those who follow...

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Jun 10, 20223 min read

Thirst, Flash Fiction by Niles Reddick

The homeless man stood on the corner just up from the Santa Monica Pier by the triple water fountain that rested atop a column decorated...

Reprogramming, a Poem by Mary Harwell Sayler

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May 27, 20221 min read

Reprogramming, a Poem by Mary Harwell Sayler

We talk to people on TV – complaining about products and fake news. We tell the weatherman, “You’re wrong again!” and criticize his coat,...

I Hear the Water, a Poem by Ann Christine Tabaka

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May 13, 20221 min read

I Hear the Water, a Poem by Ann Christine Tabaka

I hear the water. It calls to me from lakes, streams, and rivers. My mother was the ocean. She carried me on her shoulders above raging...

Poem for Greta Thunberg, by E. Martin Pedersen

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Apr 29, 20221 min read

Poem for Greta Thunberg, by E. Martin Pedersen

When you said the house is on fire I looked around, I'm good, what should I do, grab my cat and run? When you said you have stolen my...

The Unbearable Age, a Poem by Njukang Princeley

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Apr 15, 20221 min read

The Unbearable Age, a Poem by Njukang Princeley

She sits upon a rock, weeping And watching the sky as it folds Into buckets of toxic smoke Rising from the endless burning Of forest and...

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Apr 1, 20221 min read

You Never Arrived, a Poem by Des Mannay

Avoid the trap Of vengeance Of turning on us When Terrorists massacre kids We ran away from men who plant bombs, Wield guns - demand...

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Mar 18, 20221 min read

Drones, a Poem by Ed Meek

You can barely hear the dial-tone that hums through the wires of your brain. It is the call of drones, buzzing as they fly on their...