nature
Writing
Light, Color, Reflection
By Hailey KastenColors dance across frosty ground
Golden sunlight reaching far corners
Dusty shadows filling unnseen crevises
Painting the land with magic and wonder
seeds of life
By Jessica Wangat the end of the Earth
there is a dandelion plant
the corner of the sky rests on its bosom
our world relies on its strength
TURRITOPSIS DOHRNII
By Caroline StickneyIn a rare process called transdifferentiation, the turritopsis dohrnii
(known as the immortal jellyfish) can, in response to physical danger,
leap back to its first stage of life as a polyp. The born-again polyp
Sestina of the Man at Eternity's Gate
By Esther ChengAre these the pangs of birth or the aftershocks of death?
What awaits me beyond this shore?
And even now when legs and feet have failed me
The sand shows trails, like serpents, of this fragility
I bleed: the gravel grinds my skin and flesh
Alone in a Cabin I Think of What Led Me Here
By Ayesha AsadWas it the way the leaves fell,
streamlined, as I burst
bawling onto greenery,
or the first time sunlight peeked
through dark branches overhead—
or the reddish-purple skin
stretched over my sleeping body,
Let the Rain Keep Falling
By Ayesha AsadLet the Rain Keep Falling
O birthplace rain I take what I can from
your mouth, delivering myself
from spring seeds,
wetting my tongue
Duplex: Headwater
By Lukas BachoAfter Jericho Brown
Like a good fisherman, I read the water.
I can’t afford to miss a ripple in the current.
Past and future form ripples in the current,
In Orchards of Lemon Trees
By Kate Rosein orchards of lemon trees
we tiptoe, under the hanging yellow fruit
in blue moonlight, we will stay until
orange light leads us inside
Baba’s Garden
By Clara RabbaniEgg-yolks blooming in serenity
baba’s palms turn upwards
black dirt falling on the sun.
The fruit of baba’s hands
covered in spines
twisted but not the wicked way
that punctures skin.
Serpentine limbs extend in search of
Mayland
By Isabelle ShachtmanYou ask me If I know the way back home from here. I sing the words, “yes, dear” back to you like I’m someone else. You say “alright” because you’ve got nothing else to say right now; I respect that. I keep my eyes on the road. I’m not quite sure where you’re looking at this point
Life Slow Mo
By Ada HellerWet hair clings to my cheeks
salty from the rain
Drops like tears slide down my nose
as the gray of the sky peers down upon me
Barefoot in the grass
for a few moments
I forget about the life I am crushing below
Peanut Butter Sandwiches
By Elizabeth YostEven when she was young, Sonya had never been afraid of the supernatural.
Silverfish
By Kayla DoubravaI’ve never understood why people are so disgusted
by silverfish.
I like the little guys.
They way they scurry around from place to place,
they’ve always got somewhere to be,
perhaps because they don’t like where they are.
Without Heaven
By Ada HellerI know
that when I die
I’ll sink into the soil
Be eaten by all the things I’ve eaten
Become the dirt for all to walk upon
I know that my thoughts are just neurons firing
That my heart is a collection of molecules
Rain Season
By Edward SapilingaDrop, drop went the rain
Wet ground is so slippery
Here comes green all over