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I cannot stand your velvet cloak that holds the dark in. Unprepared, I stayed   with you until the wind spoke of mothers and I remembered my own smell. Every day I checked the solidness   of skin, the speed of blood, the shape of eyes against the rain. IContinue Reading

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All I wanted was a white sheet in a white room and your milk body, too. A bed where each time you’d make me a stranger       and we could frenzy                          like moths tethered to light.   A temporaryContinue Reading

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West   A rough place I return to often. The wildness of blood between my legs. A savage quiet when the cicadas finally sleep. Heartbreak like hard candy. Slow orange days slicked down with aloe. My feet fighting with the sand. Hammering stakes down. Always conquering something or other. RibbonsContinue Reading

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Ariel Kusby is a writer and bookseller based in Portland, Oregon. She currently works in the Rose and Orange rooms at Powell’s City of Books, where she pays special attention to children’s books about witches, odd cookbooks, and gnome gardening guides. You can check out her writing at www.arielkusby.com.Continue Reading

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I dreamed of being a fisherwoman              of casting deep nets like spells pulling up condensations of blue            at swim team my flip turns were fastest always forgetting       to breathe first         after practice I’d pullContinue Reading

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If I summoned you into my chest I’d let the poltergeist pulse through muscle. • If I could summon you into a deep yard, under an unbuttoning moon, I’d never stop summoning you. • I’d summon you silken and night-velvet, safe vapor like shower steam, like a hot spring pinkContinue Reading

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Mermaids, mysterious and beautiful creatures of the deep, carry some of the most powerful magic on earth. Their beauty, intelligence, and special connection to the language of fishes and coral make them able to control the tides, creating the scariest tidal waves or the most serene snorkeling conditions. In thisContinue Reading

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A young maiden with a secret: inside her chest, beneath her lace blouse, her rouged skin, and ribcage like a lobster trap, a carp lay flapping. At night it thumped against her sternum, keeping her awake. It bullied her, beating air out of her lungs, warning her against many menContinue Reading

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feat. Andy Anderson, bb, Mickey Collins, Joe Galván, Sara Kachelman, Ariel Kusby, Olivia Olivia, Phoenix Singer, Piers Rippey, Remy Autumn Torres, and Katie Borak. Dear travelers of the deep, dark woods, We see you have a basket of breads and beautiful chocolates. We see you are nice in your heartContinue Reading