Soot by Kaveh Akbar
"When I fell to earth // I knew the way—through the soot, into the leaves." – Kaveh Akbar
Bun by Gillian Sze
"how lucky they are to witness / her miss the last tendril, / the one that sticks to her neck, / curled like a crescent moon." — Gillian Sze
Red Tulips, Then Asphodel by Brenda Shaughnessy
"What are emotions / anyway? Flowers die // not knowing." – Brenda Shaughnessy
You, who carry daylight on your face by Major Jackson
“You, who carry daylight on your face / the best of us all, the sky is lust” – Major Jackson
Sustenance by Eugenia Leigh
"I mistook you / for a loaf I had prayed for. You let me // take you in my mouth" — Eugenia Leigh
The View from the Roof, Waverly Place by Cornelius Eady
"Then the one on the left loops / His arm around the other’s shoulder, / —My buddy, my buddy." – Cornelius Eady
Instead, I’m Here to Tell You Very Softly by Oliver de la Paz
"the colors were everywhere, filling our sewers / and the sewers turned very beautiful" – Oliver de la Paz
Heaven Be A Xanax by Morgan Parker
"or Still a woman slaughtered for wonder / or Unfortunately misplaced grip" – Morgan Parker
Suppose You Were A Moray Eel by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"Witches wear dresses made of your skin, sleek and gleaming. Don’t you see / how they preen whenever they pass a mirror?" – Aimee Nezhukumatathil
A Survey of Masculinity by Phillip B. Williams
"Watch boys be forced / into men by men who've forgotten their own / forcing." — Phillip B. Williams