elementia issue 19
Writing
unrefined.
By Arden Pryorlike the exuberance of bangs cut too short and stacks of bracelets that never match.
gold is for the good days only.
most days are silver. they are plentiful and lacking variation.
endless hours and constantly runny eyes.
The Swirling Eddies of Eigengrau
By Joey WuYou are trapped.
One day you awoke: a homunculus, immersed in a deep chasm of dark. You wander the confines in solitude, following the faint and ever-so-often beep that resonates through your lonely chamber.
The Brain in Colour
By Natalie NimsIsn’t it weird that we know the least about ourselves? As a species, we have conquered nations and created thousands of societies paired with complex languages. Yet, scientists still work to figure out the very thing that sits in all of our skulls. The brain. Where does every thought come from?
Bread is Forever
By Daria VolkovaThe issue with a great deal of things in life is that they are impermanent. We’d like to think they last millennia, that wearing raccoon eyeliner won’t be a phase, Mom.
Letters 4-4 A.D.
By Bowie BladeeLetters 4-4 A.D.
“Supersoaker, LG Smart Refrigerator,” par II
I hope you enjoyed my soliloquy. And I know you did--your mouth is practically open right now. Practically open... Yeah. I'm jotting that down.
A Girl with Insomnia and a Fast Car
By Ruby CullenJessie’s nights have been difficult for as long as she can remember.
5 Foot Giant
By Elena UngerThe world is large, but so am I.
An ocean of confused compassion
rolls through my veins,
and I balance boulders
on unmanicured fingertips.
Agnotology
By AnonymousWhat will you let yourself know?
And what will you put in boxes
And crush
Hoping it won’t spring up again
all the things that make it so
By Isobel Liyesterday,
i was greeted by the moon herself in your driveway.
she left my palms damp with slobber in her wake
and i stood outside your front door,
feeling like a fraction, small but rightfully so
All We Do Not Know
By Elena UngerThis morning I listened to an interview
with poet Ada Limón. She spoke about
epiphanies and didactic endings
and how sometimes a poet must surrender
to the discomfort of unknowing.
How sometimes it is best to listen
Blank Pages
By Supriya BollaI wish I had trauma that I could spin into a story,
a story that would grip your thoughts tighter than leather binding,
Something I could rip to shreds, over-analyze in the margins,
Boy Scout Camping Trip on The Eve of The Apocalypse
By Andy VillarThe sun went missing today.
There were no rivers of blood or plagues of locusts,
first-born children did not fall ill, nor did frogs descend on the cities.
It was quiet.
The black hole stood stagnant.
We could only watch and wait.
C(at)-Section
By Sangitha AiyerAs I pass through an unmarked apartment building,
I observe a woman’s relationship with a stray cat.
Obscured by the shadows of happy hour light,
the dirt that has accumulated on the floor’s grout still shines,
on being called a gaslighter
By Stephania KontopanosPART I: AI is created
I think God made you and me out of binary code You call me an enigma,
But I do not speak your language. You would be the 1’s.
Standing tall
Always at the top
Perfect Aryan halo on your head I would be the 0’s.
pool float
By Kayla BrethauerFloating through space feels like lounging on a pool float. True, your float is no pool float.
It’s a slab of discarded metal lost in the wasteland of the universe, and it’s pulling you with it, too.
In another time - a whole other life -
Prince Myshkin discovers the laws of physics
By Savannah Voth(1) every puzzle has an empty space, and a piece that never seems to fit
everywhere.
on the train in november I found
a duality called us (antithesis as mirror) sorry it is colder here than I remembered
and I am tired
of being called a dreamer
Questions for the Departed
By Lexi NewsomWrong
Is how still the air is, standing
Is how grey the sky is, weeping
Is how red the fallen leaf is, dying
Is how green the grass is, living
Living, living, living
A breath in, a breath out
Taken for granted—granted, it’s
Runs in The Family
By Gaby Killthe vents in my grandmother's old car blow
cigarette smoke at my left knuckles
and right forearm.
there's something so cold about crawling back to the house and home
where Caroline kicked me out for borrowing her water bottle
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
Ode to My Grandma
By Austina Xu李白静夜思
床前明月光,
疑是地上霜.
举头望明月,
低头思故乡
This is my dad’s favorite poem.
And I have no idea what it means.
Places You’ve Seen in Your Dreams
By AntonIn the mid-to-late 19th century, the city of Paris was undergoing a change. The process was called Haussmannization, and it was a campaign for the modernization of Paris.
The Man who is Lost in the Snow
By James PressdeeHe sat quietly, as he always did, in the living room, upon his large grey sofa, his mug resting on the large grey table, and all of the furniture in that large grey room rested peacefully atop a large grey carpet that absorbed the gradual ageing of his living there.