I was the oldest of eight,

the little mother hen with skinned-up knees,

tugging tiny hands through muddy fields,

laughing loud enough to drown out hunger.

Daddy came home with coal dust in his lungs,

Mama stirred love into every pot,

and somehow, we were rich

not in pockets, but in the way we held each other close

when the wind howled through the cracks in the walls.

Late at night, I would sneak ...

I watch as the first blush of dawn

Paints the sky in brilliant shades of beauty.

Pink melts into gold, and I think of us.

Melting into one another.

Our love was the sunrise—

brilliant, bright, and beautiful.

casting light into corners of myself

I hadn’t dared to examine in years.

Every touch, every kiss,

The way you managed to spread your light

Into the darkest parts of my being.

But I know...

It was your typical Friday night in my tiny little town of Summersville. Teenage boys were out partyin’… Some of ‘em gettin’ boozed up and comin’ home late. Some of ‘em probly parked in vacant parkin’ lots, makin’ out with their girlfriends — fingers crossed that she would let ‘em go a little bit further this time than the last. As appealin’ as all these things sounded, I was preoccupied with more...

It's been hours. I have no way of proving how much time has passed, but I know I've been here a long time and I have not moved. It's cold, and the surface I'm on is hard and unyielding like concrete. The only sound beyond my breathing is the steady drip of a pipe leaking far from where I am. It smells like chemicals, the kind you use in a pool, but I don't think that's where I am. I think I'm some...

I wander through the hollow night,

A ghost beneath a moonless sky,

Searching for the pieces of myself,

Scattered, shattered,

By hands that never cared to hold.

You find me broken,

In the shadows where I hide,

Your touch a blade,

That carves my name into your skin,

Binding me to you,

A brand, a wound that never heals.

I am lost within you,

A maze of twisted thoughts,

Where e...

If only I had a dollar,

For all the things I’ve lost…

Time and tears, lovers and friends,

Things stolen, and things I’ve tossed,

I’ve thrown away the things I loved,

Then begged to have them back.

But life is tricky and time is cruel,

It leaves you and never looks back.

I’ve lost money, I’ve lost respect,

I’ve lost self-esteem.

I’ve lost moments wishing,

That it was all just one bad dream.

...

It seems ironically unfitting that our world is perpetually bathed in sunlight. It would be far more appropriate if it were draped and never-ending shadows – a foreboding darkness, like the color of death and suffering. The Earth, having shifted dangerously close to the sun a decade ago, is now forever engulfed in a relentless blaze. Darkness only graces us for a mere six hours each day, an endles...

TW: Murder, violence, slight sexual content, .

———

The musty scent of dust fills the abandoned tire shop as I lead him inside, my fingers brushing lightly against his. We cross the threshold and he slams the door behind us, stopping to push me against the wall for a passionate kiss. His anticipation is almost tangible as he gropes at me. I play my part well. And just like every other man, he eats ...

Everyone dreams of flying high,

With no sight of land,

Oh, how I was soaring,

The first time you held my hand.

But what I could not fathom,

Until too much time had passed,

Is that you and I were just,

Too beautiful to Ever last.

Perhaps in another life,

Our souls will intertwine,

A land where hearts can beat forever,

A world where you’re still mine.

In some distant magical place, hidden...

Tatum woke up to the sound of her alarm, the sun barely peeking through her bedroom curtains. She stretched and sat up, allowing her eyes to adjust.

She grabbed her outfit for the school day. After getting dressed, she shuffled over to her vanity mirror, which reflected a girl who looked older than her thirteen years. With long blonde hair, bright emerald eyes, and plump pink lips, Tatum was unde...