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sifted bones
Crimson bleedson her clean pink jumper,blooming,like Poppies in October,the Plath poemwhich has nothing to do with poppies,the wounded woman’sheart a watercolor seeping. Fresh ruby dropsjust as we were ready to go home,declaring a reminderthat everything is not normal, everythingis not as it should be, but the portals are openthe veins are still alert,dripping,as the nurse…
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This Morning
I went for taro, custard, and red bean buns. Shrieks above from an argument broke my somnolence; a gull defended the cross it perched on from a circling raven’s assault. The vanquished raven landed and sulked. Do I call it augury, score a win for yang, or remember Jeffers, who wrote, “it is bitter earnestness…
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“my new friend”
“my new friend” don’t follow me like thatwith your sleazy saunterand those toned (bone-d) twigswobbling wedgesdollbaby dresshippie handbagand impossibly long locksthe color of crows (screaming murder!)the color of cats, those black island cats, following me all overstaring me down with eyes the color of citrine don’t look at me like thatholding your ground as i…
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Spring 2020 Print Edition
Spring 2020 Print Edition Every year, Forum staff looks forward to receiving the printed issue. Despite the potentially wider reach of online publication, the printed edition translates the individual visions of the contributors, literary and visual art staff, and the visual media team into a collective work of art. As of August 9th, we still…
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Renaming This Life – Anita Kline
This is not a march she says. This is a walk, each step a prayer. Her words a kind reminder in the voice of the ancestors who knew the earth as Mother, the sky as Father. This re-emerging language of native friends who spot a sinuous cloud crossing the face of Grandmother Moon and call…
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For Kindness – Kati Spitz
To know having You must first have lost Walked past the grocery store carts full of food While counting the pennies in your pocket To buy eggs you hope will keep everyone full for the rest of the week To appreciate a Thanksgiving table Piled high with green bean casserole First you must Have gone…
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Unrequited Heart Athletics – Helen Dannenberg
O.K. Heart It’s time to shape up It’s over now, ended Stop hurting Stop aching Let Ms. Brain earn her keep and Direct the show Let go dependence Loosen need away Figure out how to tame the Fanged lion of loneliness Heart Keep that bopping beat While Ms. Brain gets organized Skin Cells Try Amnesia…
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Libertad – Eric Imperiale
This night, like every night, Angelina stands at her kitchen table in the light of a bare bulb, cutting leftover bread into small squares. Her long black hair is neatly wrapped in a bun, like a little hat on the top of her head. A silver cross, hanging from the brown leather neck, glimmers with…
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Rousted at Civic Center – Thomas A. E. Hesketh
Rousted at Civic Center As leaves from fallen lives Delivered from their thought trees Gracing the morning moist sidewalks of despair Between the monuments of culture: Civic Center’s Main Library And the Asian Art Museum, alike solemn Bastions of the tax base Encamped against the barrier wall Itself holding stacks of books in and the…
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Popcorn – William Petersen
One night after work I asked her if she wanted to go for a drink. I hadn’t slept with her yet but it was looking pretty likely. But nothing had to happen, I liked her well enough just to hang out. While we were in the bar she recognized a waiter she used to work…
Forum Literary Magazine 