Archive for August, 2022

uncertain glory, by joan sales

who’d have thought that explosion of joy would end five years later in the most absurd butchery . . .

brother in ice, by alicia kopf

At my high school there was a sign that said: “The world belongs to those who read.” That’s a lie, I thought, a lie, a lie, a lie.

the years, by annie ernaux

she copies down sentences that tell one how to live, which have the undeniable weight of truth because they come from books

customs, by solmaz sharif

They say willingness is what one needs to succeed. They say one needs to succeed.

homage to catalonia, by george orwell

Human beings were trying to behave as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine.

bless the daughter raised by a voice in her head, by warsan shire

The poem can start with him walking backwards into a room. He takes off his jacket and sits down for the rest of his life, that’s how we bring Dad back.

thresh & hold, by marlanda dekine

I care for Henrietta Lacks and all the names whispered in my ear by the live oak trees. I don’t care about the father of modern gynecology, honored on South Carolina’s golf course capitol.

time is a mother, by ocean vuong

Because this mess I made I made with love. Because they came into my life, these ghosts, like something poured. Because crying, believe it or not, did wonders.