Blood And Water: Two Poems

my brothers and I robbed a blood bank.
on the news
they called us vampires
and I could not have been happier
that I had become popular

PoetryHussain AhmedAugust 2, 2017hussain ahmed, blood, family, childhood, Islam, Nigeria, water, rain, vampire, poverty

Reflections Of a Zimbabwean Artisanal Miner

He can barely see a foot in front of him
As his paraffin lantern flickers dimly at the entry
His makeshift oxygen tank dries up
And he tries to look at his friend

Magnolia Trees/Body

When you talk about beauty,
your body opens up—like a question.
Ground water swells out of your eyes,
rolls down the quiet side of your face.

PoetryDani JanaeJuly 26, 2017poetry, sexuality, nature

Call to Masturbation

at 3 am love exists within self-inflicted fingerprints

all over your lonely mounds of subsaharan sugar cane

PoetryFatima ShakurJuly 21, 2017masturbation, sex, sexuality, porn, Islam, Ramadan, bodies, faith, religion, fatima shakur

Myth/Sunset

These gods are young
and have not yet lived
through the consequences
of their destruction

PoetryTiffany BabbJuly 10, 2017poetry, Tiffany Babb

Pride Month

In queer audiotopia the dance floor is heaven
and God is a black trans woman

PoetryKyle LopezJune 23, 2017queer, pride month, Kyle Lopez, poetry

sluice

I am not glass

PoetrySoph BondeJune 16, 2017series: held lines, poetry, soph bonde

Before the Guests Arrive

I keep almost getting somewhere
Capturing a phrase like,
"The bodies that helped us become"

PoetryAlana BaumJune 7, 2017alana baum, poetry, before the guests arrive

"You hung in the closet, was Mom's stock response"

Last week I went home for the first time in years;
I crept in the closet and locked up the door.

PoetryJuliette FaraoneMay 30, 2017Juliette Faraone, family, queer, poetry

Three Rains

By the time I had returned the cohort was mobile, and the sharp scent of a fallen pine brought me back into myself. Still, I felt separate. Still, I was waiting. Still, I was shaking in my boots.

PoetryElizabeth MatusMay 3, 2017Elizabeth Matus, nature, poetry

carried

you feel so tied to this moment
you feel so intrinsic to the present

PoetrySoph BondeApril 7, 2017series: held lines, poetry, soph bonde

36 Pounds

I can tell you all the right reasons I did it
About blood pressure and cholesterol and protecting my joints
I can tell you how I did it the right way, got all the gold stars:

PoetryLeah GatesMarch 21, 2017Leah Gates, fatphobia, 36 Pounds

What Makes Me Human

I tap the icons for the dating apps on my Android, wondering what line others will use to strike up a conversation with me. And then I see the one that makes me sigh in exasperation, leaving me wondering how many times I will get this message because I decided to publicize my sexual orientation.

PoetryHridi DasFebruary 17, 2017hridi das, poetry, asexuality