Today our resident pachyderms make way for the delightful inhabitants of Roppotucha Greenberg‘s Creatures Give Advice (available in paperback and ebook formats). Though elephants never fret, they do worry and wonder. And Creatures Give Advice packs enough wisdom and whimsy to satisfy even the most elephantine imagination. Advice Bureau Things didn’t always go to plan. Last Tuesday, for instance… Finding Read More
Author: Andre
The Artist Studies the Effect of Sadness on Her Own Face
by Amanda McLeod Sadness changes the shape of my face Lines of happiness get redrawn in a different direction with a heavy pencil that only pulls down Eyes have their sparkle erased Hooded shields appear puffy, and the corners are tugged at by a memory that once, things were better Fine traces of watercolour tears stain my skin a different Read More
Why Are You So Skinny?
by Lamar Neal I once thought my body was hideous, Filled with reminders why no one called me their own. At such a tender age, I lived envious Broken that puberty was my curse and others’ milestone. I couldn’t understand why God Didn’t give me a reason to hold my head high. The only time people were awed By my Read More
Truncated
by JD DeHart Cut short, brought low, chopped down to size. The ornament, packaged, wants to burst free. All your life you can depend on the boost of others. We stand on the shoulders of giants, they say, but who knows about the existence of giants. They are only as real as the centaurs living down the street. JD DeHart Read More
Refuge
by Jack Somers Dennis left on a Saturday morning. He called Mom a miserable bitch, emptied his drawer in the bedroom, and thundered out the front door. I was relieved. Of all the boyfriends she had brought home over the years, I liked Dennis the least. He took money out of my piggy bank to buy booze and smacked me Read More
Shit
The older man in the floppy hat snapped another picture, and Ephram almost went rogue. Spirits of Africa, how many candid shots do they need? If they lingered much longer, Ephram wouldn’t be able to control himself. He had to shit! For the last half-hour, Ephram had been tromping about, flinging mud onto himself, and squeezing his butt cheeks hard Read More
Sentimental Passing
by Lamar Neal Last night, I had a dream that my mother died And I woke in a cold sweat awaiting her voice. As I awaited for her to answer my calls, I cried Unsure how I would live if God made his choice. In that moment, life itself became surreal And every fairy tale proved itself as fake. Though Read More
Towers
by Rickey Rivers Jr. Her shoulder was stained with tears of another. Leaning tower of friendship. His shoulder was stained with tears of his mother. Leaning tower of family. Rickey Rivers Jr. was born and raised in Alabama. He is a writer and cancer survivor. His poetry has appeared in Former Cactus, the Ginger Collect, Vamp Cat Magazine, Read More
Calle Neptuno, La Habana
by Ray Ball, PhD My ankle wobbles as I step on the uneven textures of the street and sidewalks. In the afternoon heat the trash piled high shimmers in the intersections of Centro Havana. A sign reads: do not litter! But a man tosses an Read More
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Break out your green undies, set the cabbage to boil, and turn up The Chieftains on your stereo! On St. Patrick’s Day, every pachyderm can appropriate and enjoy a little bit of Irish culture. If you live in Boston or Chicago, you may even find participation unavoidable. For everyone else, we recommend you find a fiddle, step into the Riverdance, Read More