elementia issue 14

Writing

Regret

By Savanah Richmond

Your tangy citrus grin

cuddles up against my lips.

Our palms, their creases and our fingertips,

collide together the way kiwis fit snug in their skin.

Harmonies pour out of our souls,

dancing in our laughter.


The Hunt

By Hunter Rahto

I wake early before the birds are stirring

Loading the car with all the supplies

Long drive in the dark with the tires whirling

I get to the land before sunrise


What am I?

By Clara Rabbani

In Iran I am a rebel. I show my hair. In Brazil I am exotic. The nomads left me their yellow eyes to search the desert sand. Where I live, there is no sand. In America I am my age. Stuck in the in-between where nothing lasts. I am the enemy.


Coping with the World

By Amanda Pendley

I was in the middle of Alabama, silhouette illuminated by the golden hour’s subtle sunlight, engrossed in a conversation with my cousin, just catching up.

He’d asked me if I was any better, and I’d told him that “at least I know my triggers now.” 


Vanishing Act

By Amanda Pendley

Two mirrors face each other, a girl in between.

The girl is me, stuck on the cliche of the introvert; on the outside looking in.

My problem is that I've always been on the inside looking out.


Pianist

By Anonymous

Trembling fingers, and one deep breath.

Eyes closed as the tips of his fingers

Grace the smooth edge of the ivory washed keys.

And the notes on the page jump out at him –

Decrescendo here! Forte there! A trill now!


Curse of the Huntresses

By Isabel Nee

And so the sun, in its dying fire falls,

Into the darkness of the night’s black realm.

The moon ascends into the sky, so stalls

I, to see its beauty and feel its calm.

But then come the stars, crossed in others eyes,


elegy

By Holly Murfey

There was a time when innocence meant nothing to me.

She was a veil over the childhood I had

And took for granted,

And when she was stripped I wanted her back.

She was pillaged in the basement

of an old friend’s house.


Dramaton

By Holly Murfey

I fall deeper and deeper with

Every scathing second.

My eyes are wide open now

And I realize that this is not a dream.

She turns inside me,

Her tiny foot skids the wall of my stomach.

I don’t know how she is a girl,


A Different Person

By Joseph Chaparro

Out there…

During the day, around everyone…

I can be the funniest guy ever,

a person that don’t care about nothing,

someone confident about himself,

and that won’t let nobody make him feel less.

But once inside…


Identities Confied

By Emily Martin

The cheerleader who always holds a book

And the agnostic with an avid church attendance

Someone so silent and simultaneously outspoken

And the fiery spirit which silence most benefits

Her identity, though contradictory, belongs to her


Dear Me: 1 Year Ago

By Emme Mackenzie

Dear Me,

You lose in the end.

In the end, you cry for 6 months and spend sleepless nights wondering why you weren’t enough.

In the end, your bedsheets become tissues for your tears and your pillow becomes a microphone.


antithesis of coconut oil

By Alice Kogo

my hair bleeds purple when i sleep

dark, violet, translucent in the way that sausage fat boiling on the pan is

before it touches a towel

in the way that a ghost’s imprint is before fingerprints are left on the kitchen counter


revamped beliefs

By Alice Kogo

if I am to believe in anything,

i believe in the stars.

i believe in the glint the moon gives though a car door window.

i believe in the scattered freckles of lanterns in the sky,

eternally held in place until you


A Mother's Love

By Anonymous

I loved you

And you loved me

Many nights we stayed awake together

Holding you close

Every time singing

Rhymes of geese and shoes

Every night


It Isn't Me

By Matthew Justis

I wake up

Brush my teeth

Then look into the mirror.

I see a kid

Who looks confused

About his true self.

I don’t know who.

But it isn’t me.


It's Difficult

By Anonymous

It’s difficult,

The business of learning a new language.

Words slip away from you like a skittish bird

But you grasp for them

And try to give them some meaning.


ballad to the unknown

By Claire Hutchinson

i screamed into the void until my lungs collapsed,

but she barely gave me a glance when the silence relapsed.

i called out to the stars and they gave me an excuse:

“hey man i’m sorry, it’s me, it’s not you.”


red heels

By Claire Hutchinson

when you click your heels and wish for home, where exactly is it that you go? i packed away all my ambition in manilla envelopes of faded dreams and sent them away to coral reefs so schools of fish a generation after me could learn from my mistakes.


Balloons

By Olivia Humphrey

Imagine yourself in a room full of balloons in a variety of colors, all with little white string.

Each balloon is an event; a lunch with friends, a family reunion, a party, a date.


What Made Me Who I Am

By Kyle Huffaker

I get part of her one day.

And a part of her the next.

I rarely see the same side twice.

But I don’t blame her,

 Because she is dying inside.


My Brother

By Grace Hoskins

He makes me laugh

He makes me smile

We goof off

He sees a side of me that no one else sees

The silly side the ridiculous side

The “Let’s make up a word to mean this” side

We have each other’s back


Dear Body

By Melissa Herzberg

Dear Body,

I’m sorry 

For all of the hate you're given

I know you're just trying to make a living

And go on with your life as it is

But every day you're seen in a mirror

And at that moment you’re seen clearer


The Days After

By Allyssa Herlein

It was a dark room. Dark enough that it was hard to tell whether my eyes were open or closed, unless I was looking at the chains that bound my wrists—a dull silver color.


Linguistic Outcast

By Allyssa Herlein

Many people can’t fathom

my language

or why I communicate 

in a manner different 

than them.

They fear oddity,

panicking at the individual

who will violate

the common order 


Beauty

By Caroline Hanson

I am an emerald waterfall flowing with knowledge,

Running through life like a wolf. 

While my imagination is like sea, always more to discover.

There’s more to me than what meets the eye, 

And only some can see it.


Thoughts Speak Louder Than Words

By Cassandra Griffing

All eyes on those who shimmer with dialogue

All eyes on those with tongues aflame,

blinded

 by their empty words

that block genuine insight.


They Don't Know

By Drew Gilworth

“Work Harder,

Do better,

Study more,

Don’t act stupid,

Pay attention.”

These are the things that run through my mind nonstop,

But they don’t know.

I call myself dummy after dumb blonde,

But they don’t know.


Outside and Inside

By Gabby Gillespie

Being a creator isn’t easy. Your inside thoughts and feelings are always on display to everything on the outside.


All Alone

By Nathan Francis

When I am alone

I talk to things

Things that aren't there

Because I have no one else to talk to

When I am alone

I listen to music

Because I like some noise

When I am alone

I get sentimental