No Confidence
Irish poet Holly Darragh-Hickey explores feelings of introversion, guilt, inadequacy, and anger in this poem where “words throbbed under pressure”
Love Not: 1 Plus 1 = 0
Logic and alpha-maleness stifle the potential for love in this poem by San Antonio poet, Catherine Lee
Hackles
Hannah Norris’ poem explores the discomfiting bizarreness of male behavior towards women in public spaces
STOP KICKING
Oliver Sedano-Jones returns to childhood to explore vengeance and hierarchy between seat-kickers in this rhythmic and hilarious poem
Ariana Grande Comes to Lunch: A Modern Tableau En Famille*
In this comical poem by P.W. Bridgman, a man rails against his daughter's boyfriend's man-bun
Two Poems
Welsh poet Elizabeth Wilson Davies probes constructions of the female body through two lyric poems: "Eel Man" and "Blonde Ambition"
Two Poems
In "Birthright" and "Atonement with the Father", Scottish poet Sarah Grant roots around in her own history, and forgives the future
High in Fire Country
With a wildfire looming in the distance, an author sets out to write something that will make him feel seen, in this evocative poem by William Doreski
Strange
David Romanda’s narrative poem distills a relationship-defining moment between a man, woman, and cat. With artwork by Charlie Riddle
Herald’s and Del’s Cosmetic Issue
In this vernacular poem by Charles H. Lynch, a husband and wife spar over their respective spending habits
Two Poems
In “Everything I Learned About Love I Learned from the Couple Across the Street”, a love poem drifts to its ever after, while in “How the Girl Became a Poet”, a young Ukrainian girl writes out of rubble
“Since”
Emirati poet Amal Al Shamsi’s poem explores nostalgia, longing, and a mother-daughter relationship
The Station in Summer
Irish writer Oisin Breen’s poem lurches into being like the arrival of a train. With artwork by Ekaterina Palesskaya
Visions
The disembodiment of helplessness – a poem by Natasha Huynh
May
New in milk & vodka, Pakistani poet Ammara Jabbar entwines nature with girlhood. With artwork by Keely Mclavin
Two Poems
Sharjah-based poet Jared Maxilom’s two poems “Cassandra as a Catalonan at Election Night” and “Balang Araw” dig deep into music and the ravines of Filipino political news. With artwork by Leyton Cassidy
Salt
With salt as her anchor, catalyst, and metaphorical vehicle, Katharine Oden’s prose poem dives into the troubled waters of a mind. With artwork by Luchina Akhmad
Sugarcoats
Filipino creative Leandro Reyes’ wistful poem ponders a lost connection. With art by Luchina Akhmad
Two Poems
Two poems by Kurt Van Ristell use the political and colonial history of tea to reflect on a complicated identity and how it is perceived by others
The Jig is Up
Amal Al Shamsi’s poem cuts across a black cat’s path and worries itself about the impending, over tea