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 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
https://www.yavanikapress.com/submission-
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