First Spring, 2011 by Jenny Qi
“They look absurd showing off / as if beauty still matters.” — Jenny Qi
Disconnect by Khadijah Queen
“No heartbreak / or inspiration to sell as end goal, / rarely beauty.” — Khadijah Queen
Postcard to Baudelaire by Thomas Lux
“There’s one good thing, / Charles: the few beautiful verses / granted you by God / sing.” — Thomas Lux
Ode to Mitski by William Fargason
“I could let go of the wheel / and close my eyes but Mitski in my speakers / pulls me back to earth” — William Fargason
I Know A Man by Robert Creeley
“drive, he sd, for / christ’s sake, look / out where yr going.” — Robert Creeley
There You Are by Victoria Adukwei Bulley
“these things you do / which, although you haven’t said it yet, / say that you want to live.” — Victoria Adukwei Bulley
BABE THE PIG DOES THE SHEEP-NOISE WHEN MOURNING THE SHEEP by sam sax
“grief is an animal. we all know that. but which animal / exactly?” — sam sax
Heaven Be A Xanax by Morgan Parker
“And I will kneel to pray / And I will address the prayer to myself / And I will be allowed” — Morgan Parker
what the ocean said to the black boy by Clint Smith
“they call me blue because / they don't understand how the sky work / they call you black because / they don't understand how god work” — Clint Smith
Awake by Najwan Darwish
“Awake so that the colonizers might leave / Awake so that people can sleep” — Najwan Darwish