The Astronaut Explains Divorce to Me by Ash Bowen
“But at night, the frequency / of your grief keeps him homing through // our house.” — Ash Bowen
What We Hold by Ugochukwu Okpara
“held her hands / instead / and asked why / now why keep a thing / so heavy away / from me” — Ugochukwu Okpara
Telling My Father by James Crews
“Out late was all he said. And then smiled, / rubbing the small of my back through the robe / for a while,” — James Crews
Uncles (Blood) by Kevin Young
"Uncles lie / beautifully. Years later / Uncles won't much remember" — Kevin Young
Grief by Victoria Chang
“The grief remains but is changed by / what it is covered with. A picture of / oblivion is not the same as oblivion.” — Victoria Chang
Wings of Return by Don Mee Choi
"In light, we all were ailing from separation and homesickness. In light, we had to find a way to settle down, as my mother said. In light, we lived like birds." — Don Mee Choi
My death is not a song by Mohammed Moussa
“Remember not my name / But the names of my kids / who you killed while / they were carrying my death” — Mohammed Moussa
Coconut by Paul Hostovsky
“and what on earth / and where on earth / and this was happiness / this little ball / of interest beating / inside his chest” — Paul Hostovsky
Lines Composed While Watching My Mother Buy Tomatoes by Bee Morris
“the sky is blue because. / The plants are watered green because. / That silver hair on your head, / so many impossible strands!” — Bee Morris
City Lake by Chelsea B. DesAutels
“What was I waiting for? Frogs to rain from the sky? / A great love?” — Chelsea B. DesAutels