Afternoon of May 22, 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Don’t Have a God Complex, I Have a Poorly Managed Kingdom

i pray

but only in public bathrooms.

i bless people

by mistake.

say “you’re welcome”

when they haven’t thanked me.

i want worship

but settle for attention.

my altar is a group chat

named sinners club <3

~Sophia Sharkey

childhood friend

her peaceful memory

in my thoughts

an old poem collection

from when I was suffocating

amie d’enfance

son souvenir paisible

dans mes pensées

un vieux recueil de poèmes

du temps où j’étouffais

~Marie Derley

my favorite poems about work, are written there. It's like earning a secret bonus.

~Keith Snow

One day I will not write a poem

But not today.

~Noah Berlatsky

floating anchorless a disseminated            i

~Vijay Prasad

monkeys in a cage do not call their home a prison

~Mykyta Ryzhykh

the evolution of leaves underfoot

~Mykyta Ryzhykh

I’m the Kind of Girl Who Could Die Mysteriously in Act Two

i say cryptic things

at bus stops.

i journal in code

then forget the key.

i drink wine like it’s plot development

and kiss like a spoiler.

you’d miss me

and not know why—

only that your dreams

smell like petrol and wet paper.

~Sophia Sharkey

waiting for the school bus

sounds of my classmates' phones

playing music too loud

~Alper Ghuchlu

the meteorologists

predict more rainfall

this monsoon

~Tejendra Sherchan

I Only Believe in Horoscopes When They Insult Me

“you push people away.”

accurate.

“you love too hard.”

cringe but true.

“you will meet someone soon.”

liar.

“stop looking at your ex’s instagram.”

block me harder, cosmos.

drag me by the rising sign.

make it personal.

~Sophia Sharkey

rain puddle . . .

I ripple my distorted

image

~Veronika Zora Novak

white eyes . . .

in a nuclear field

apocalypse child

~Veronika Zora Novak

in some

other universe . . .

lilac moons

~Veronika Zora Novak

as I swim

inside your head . . .

marmalade clouds

~Veronika Zora Novak

Summer rain sleepwalking

In a new trench coat

Posing for flowers

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

Evening shadows

Growing in blue ovals

Memory lane

~Sarah Mahina Calvello

such a small word

such a powerful impact

oval

~Jennifer Gurney

And the globe is eternal

Taw.

Taw.

Taw.

Tawdry tattoo.

Tawdry fireworks

And tatty tattoos.

Then who dreams bright?

Toddles a toddler in toddler- only hope.

~Partha Sarkar

wild mushrooms—

sorting through

evening news

~Richard L. Matta

glass globe

the expansion

of his smudges

~Richard L. Matta

I’m a "Strong Independent Woman" Until I See a Moth Indoors

i pay taxes.

i’ve seen death.

i’ve called the GP without crying.

but the second

a moth does its freaky wing twitch

by the hallway bulb—

i become

a victorian widow

screaming into a tea towel

like the room’s on fire.

~Sophia Sharkey

I Am the Reason They Lock the Self-Checkout Alcohol Drawer

i failed the captcha

because i looked too sad.

the machine said

“unexpected item in the bagging area”

and i said

“yeah, that’s me.”

the cashier asked

“plastic or paper?”

i said

“attachment or abandonment?”

~Sophia Sharkey

 

 

 

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