Line me up with  your hands gloved in garden – barbed wire thorns to lacerate soft flesh and mark scars like the passage of time bind my hands like a hook on a string  to the boards that defy the waves of my back and force-feed me between your finger and thumb  ripe like the pearls…

You stare at me while I’m not looking, Sending a surge of excitement up from my stomach to my head, Sitting by your side, Feeling your warmth, Energizes my being. Time doesn’t exist as the moment catches us in it. This was written by our contributing writer, Lyndsey Richards.

It’s no illusion Your words have captured me, My heart was sealed tight Tighter than that of Jericho Yes, you brought down my defense For that, I welcome your invasion Be the one who keeps me. It’s no mirage You’re really mine, In all my wildest dreams You are my forever Who could have thought…

Reserve a place for me, For I know Christmas is coming. Whatever delicacies you will prepare, Please reserve my share, darling. Reserve a spot for me at our usual bar, Where we always visited, you and I, For I wanna drink with you, Even if it’s for just a little while. Reserve a space around…

Josh, one of our writers, joined the Civil Air Patrol, the all-volunteer United States Air Force Auxiliary, 10 years ago today. He wrote this poem to commemorate his service. “I became an Airman 10 years ago today. Started out in Butler County, PA. My first mission was to Somerset, my boot broke and I didn’t…

The day I die; When I’m being carried, To the gravesite, You must never think, That I’m missing the world. For what is there to miss, If not my mother, And siblings, My books, And those few good people, That care for me, As I care for them? The day I die, Do not mourn,…

From the start You made this desert bloom, Through my darkest days You pulled me free Let my heart forever love you In life and eternity I am but yours to have. In my heart A crown is adorned, Your hands danced around my heart Playing sweet symphonies Symphonies I never knew existed From my…

For some reason, my dreams have images of nails painted In colors of blood red And shimmering dark blue For some reason, he appears With my family And all of us sitting around a table That one must descend a staircase to access And I am forced to sit next to him For some reason,…

I hope we see again, But not in death, Or in the stormy rain. Now, trekking on this pitiless path, In opposite ways, I hope we see again someday. Thinking of the time together we shared, Going from here to there, In the overpowering heat of the sun, I swear, this journey was no fun.…

Scrolling… You’re styling wrong You’re eating wrong You’re sitting wrong You’re breathing wrong You’re existing wrong Wrong wrong wrong wrong – She s m a s h e d her phone into the ground Watched it          slide Across the floor             In front of the closet door Her ragged breathing Rattled her ears The screen…