Your teary eyed Eyes twinkle in the starriest night You empathize Because I knew you were right Emotional lacks self control Feels like spiraling Going down rabbit holes Finding little things is inspiring A brain full of thoughts Scattered among one puzzle piece Allowing new lessons taught Tearing off thread from your fleece Your desensitized…
Author: Public Submission
Dyslexia By Paul Fullop
Look at these words,with each their own sound,this and that and beep and boop. Can’t you hear?Can’t you hear? Look at their placement,all scattered about,exactly where they should be. Can’t you see?Can’t you see? Look at you will you,fingers tracing lines,sounding everything out loud. Can’t you read?Can’t you read?
You By Paul Fulop
Find yourself a rhythm, find yourself a storied line. Dress it up all fancy and nice, lose yourself in all it holds. Dance about the twisting columns of description and of rhyme. Race from end to end and read it all again. Now tell me what you’ve found. Tell me all the little things and…
Kaleidoscope By Taylor Rehurek
I chase fading rainbows in the night, Grasping fantasies with desperate might. With each turn, a realm of make-believe, where shadows twist, and I deceive. Lost in my dreams, Where laughter fades to silent streams. with a heart weighed down, I search for a way, In this haunting, delusional display. Through fractured glass, I seek…
Snowboarding By Sarah Bourquin
A cold and slippery morning. The sun is still sleeping. Frozen fingers and frozen toes. Mittens, hats, jackets, scarves dance in white, Flickering forward and back, behind and in front of trees. Occasionally, one disappears. A long line and then an even longer lift. The chair is filled with chatter, Carried away by the cold….
Lest We Forget By Jeffery Moser
The yellow leaves are falling, While ballots are dropping. I hear wild geese calling, And it’s that time for shopping — Indeed, the holidays are coming! Some acquaintances are parting, With this old year stopping. As a new year is starting, Fresh snows shall be topping — Surely, more friendships are forthcoming!
the roses and the thorns and the deep blue sea By Aubrielle Reynolds
i do not cry because i want to die but because i’m afraid you will lie or perhaps i’m more afraid you won’t so confess i don’t instead i cry and my soul lets out a sigh i fear you will never love me i fear that i won’t be ever be enough to be…
Elvis Costello Said Everyday I Write The Book And So Did I By Jonathan Gonzalez Trejo
When will I stop punching the clock? Haven’t worked on the book since July. So technically it is not every day. I lie consecutively…footnoting the truth, nah. The phosphenes are the only art made. Daily to remind me I ain’t shit. When will I stop punching the clock? To affairs organized for others, excluding me….
I Dreamed of You By Kelli Mora
I dreamed of youa few days lateras I slept in the room next to yours. You did not know you had diedand I thought that maybethey had made a mistake. You were just asleepand you would be okaybut then I remembered as they took you away. I tried to make up for all the ways that I…
Delivered To The Worms, Free Of Charge By Jonathan Gonzalez Trejo
A galloping heart digs under the floury moon The executioner’s mind spins like an industrial laundry machine At what is carved to be, being so soon The founding fathers look without a raison d’être in the eye that once beamed In times when liberty was fab and destined to boom Half of what stood in…
The Mist Betwixt the Stars By Tait Simpson
The Mist Betwixt the Stars Have you ere gazed out, At the mist betwixt the stars? The sickly band stretched ‘cross the heavens With its alabaster glow? Have you ere listened, To the bullfrogs belted bars? A croaking chorus calling out, From their tannic water holes. Has your skin been touched; By the crisp September…
Premonitions From an Antique Sage By John Quincy Thompson
The forests of tomorrow will be metal spires With no sticks, leaves, or colors Who lick the clouds and pierce the sky Yesterday’s trees, mere antiquity Rivers will not run with water, And will not flow or move And will be weaved of blackened stone And will bake under the heat of the sun Man…
The White Defender By Tait Simpson
The hordes approaching from the west. The White Defenders stand the line. Teeth gnashing tearing flesh, The Whiteguard mustn’t fail Rage against the Latrans host, The White Defenders stand the line. Defend the land whatever the cost. The Whiteguard mustn’t fall. Malady o’ertakes all but one, The last Defender stands alone. His white cloak bathed…
Pen and Paper By Mackenzie Franks
Tense in the darkness, Shivers shooting down my spine. Echoes screaming in my brain, “Release me.” The shouts overlapping, Increasing in volume. |Fingers fidgeting for anything, To punch, to scream, to feel. I need release. I need to feel anything but empty. I need to gain control. I pick up the pen, Heart rate rising…
Drowning… By Mackenzie Franks
Cold plunge all around, Fighting to get to the surface But chained to an anchor Pulling me deeper into the abyss, Flailing to break free But failing inevitably, Can’t scream, Can’t talk, Can’t breathe… Chest restricted Suffocating… The weight unbearable And my body stilled, Flowing with the current But never far from the sinking anchor,…
Businessman By Matthew Frink
the Business man The business man the business Man he’s Walking down the street the business Man The business man the Business man he’s walking down the Street Look at him look at Him look at him with his Fucking face look at Him Look at him look at him with his fucking Face Hit…
Garbage Man By Matthew Frink
I am the Garbage Man I’ve come for your trash Don’t let the dog out I’ll kick your fuckin’ ass! I Am the HandyMan I’ve come for your wood Beavers know I nailed it These jokes are fuckin’ lewd! Didilly didilly doo do do do Didilly do do do Didilly didilly doo do do do…
Light Through the Cracks By Chelsea Cramer
In the shadowed streets where dreams decay,Where the lost and the weary quietly lay,There’s a pain that lingers, sharp and deep,A love we lost, a grief we keep. Cracks in our hearts let the light filter through,Even in darkness, hope whispers true.The echoes of spirits, their voices so clear,Urge us forward—”Be brave, persevere.” When the…
A Paper Sword Haiku By. Kora Campbell
Raise a paper sword, See what it wants to defend, Oh what will it do? It is flimsy, frail It can only do so much, Can it be so sharp? What will it cut, slice? This or that, what can it do? A plain paper cut… Or a great sever? So lay down the paper…
Maybe Tomorrow… By. Jonathan Gonzolez Trejo
Maybe tomorrow I don’t know… Maybe tomorrow I don’t know I don’t know… Maybe tomorrow I won’t tighten my head in braids… Maybe tomorrow the way I display my hair will make me look confident and cool and not clueless and concerned… Maybe tomorrow you’ll come back to my arms, girl! Had to throw in…
Confused from Spontaneous By Matthew Frink
She was Confused. And so was I. I didn’t know that I loved her yet Innovative artistry with visions of chaos A random happenstance Kindred spirits spontaneously Awakening to one another from friends to secret leg touches an awkward date is fated Friend-hugs and romantic handshakes Weirdly comfortable, I am transparent with this woman I…
Sonnet for the Lark Bunting By Jeffery Moser
Who will pause for Colorado’s state bird? It’s black and white feathers blot the vast plains. This underdog bird of sorts must be heard: “Hweee, hweee, hweee! Chit, chit! Chirp!” It’s bubbling reigns. Who will halt their daily walk to listen, For the bunting’s calls when she feeds her young? “Hweee, hweee, hweee! Whert! Whert!”…
The Miranda by Alexa Marshall
A deep and gentle groan that could easily be mistaken for a deep sea horror to the unfamiliar ear pushed its way through the dense silence. A haunting behemoth of shredded metal and mindless gray sea fauna began to emerge from the shroud of blue ahead of me. A hefty steel ship and her inhabitants…
The West Grove by Kiley Rochat
I drove down over the bridge and brook that leads between the groves. That bridge has been there since my father ran the business and hasn’t required repair once. I’ve gone down this road enough times since who knows when I can no longer tell if all the bumps along the road have been evened…
Sharing Candy by Matthew J Frink
It has been years since I’ve seen a Snickers bar. But, there it is. A delight that I only imagined in dreams. The dream chocolate was perfect though. Not like this crumpled mess. It had been stepped on, likely years ago when 7-11s like this were worth looting. Now a husk of convenience. The only…
Victim by Josephine Yockim
You arrived at the apartment early and knocked on the door. The people who called you ‘friend’ welcomed you in. You sat at the counter and immediately asked to be given a hit. She complied and although suspicion flooded your system, you remained calm, smiling, talking. You keep the Pen in your hand. Another comes…
I Won’t Smile Back If You Smile At Me For No Reason Whatsoever by Jonathan Gonzalez Trejo
Seriously, no can do. And you can say “OHH, it’s just a friendly gesture”. Bullshit. Since when have humans been inherently friendly towards one another? Tuck your smiles in the laughter you cause and only that, because it’s not gonna work with me. So, if you see me walking or posted up in my zone,…
Cloud Fishing by Jocelyn Sailas
Ever since he was a little boy, Jinhai Huang knew that his Uncle Bai was unusual, to say the least. As a kid, Jinhai would watch as his uncle left the house, fishing gear in hand, and then return home soaking wet with a large sum of money and no fishing rods in sight. This…
Beyond the Rainwall by Sundance Hollingsworth
The evening clouds swam through the sky, whale-grace guiding them to some unknown destination. Kiva adjusted her glasses against the spray. After a point in Greene, she stopped hearing the rain. The wall that encircled Greene was distant enough from the town that it quickly faded into the ambient hum of the day. This close,…
Coloratus Malum by Eli Lundgreen
A dragon came down from the sky. It was a large dragon, much larger than the average five foot man of the town. The dragon was cruel, the dragon was cunning, and the dragon was crimson-red colored. The dragon was the daughter of one that lived in the town, and the people had incapacitated its…
A Lasting Memory For All But Me by Pi Blehm
It was a busy day, with many things happening all at once. A concert for my older sisters, both in the school’s concert band. The release of a new movie- no one remembers which. My father had just been promoted to a supervisor role. I was also there, somewhere, running up a concrete jungle. Dragging…
Erosion by Melissa J. Troutman
Erosion: An Exploration of Loss, Grief, and Hope in Chronic Illness Inspired by the Aftermath of Hurricane Ida at the Bernadette Morales Nature Preserve in Flemington, NJ I see it even before I reach the bridge, as I round the first bend to the sweeping curve of the stream. I hear it even before…
Adventure by Josephine Yockim
The morning was still new. Gwyn and I were both still damp from showers taken before meeting up at my house. We both lived down the street from one another, so it became our summer routine to go to each other’s house after practice. First, we would usually get up around 6 am or some…
Mujer! by Tracy Thatcher
When my mother’s father, Grandpa Vigil, passed away, my grandma moved in with our family and lived with us for many years. As I consider that time now, it was simply something our family did. There was no question where grandma would go next; she would come to live with us. At the time, I…
Toe Tag by Mariah Crawford
Death used to call me on the phone. Under the fluorescent lighting of the insurance call center, my phone would ring with the news of whom Death had recently claimed. Death has always been a shapeshifter so the voice on the other end of the phone was constantly changing. Sometimes it was the grieving husband…
These Metaphors, My Body by Mariah Crawford
I find it easiest to describe my chronic illness in metaphors. When asked how it feels to hold a chronic illness within my body, I perform a magic trick of words. With my words, the lights dim, the smoke machine whirls to life, and I become the wizard hiding behind the velvet curtain. Pay no…
Pulse by Ryan Moos
Biography: Hello, my name is Moos! Yes, that’s without the ‘e’ at the end. No, I don’t know why. I came to Aims because, about 6 years ago, the first college I attended (The Art Institute of Seattle) closed its doors in my last year of a four-year degree and left me with nothing….
Monkey Don’t Climb by Jonathan Gonzalez Trejo
There came to be a protective tree, planted in the middle of the gutters, It’d burst when it’s moisture dried and didn’t want to be hugged with its protruding thorny utters! It craves attention and warmth with no particular gap, But oh, Jabillo! How silly you thirst with your venomous sap! When your branches move,…
The Book of All Things Treasured by Jonah Paklik
It was a rainy night in Northern Griffdonia, and many people were already sleeping the night away. At the Fish-n’-Bread Inn in Necropolis, however, not a single guest or worker had a sleepy eye. The Fish-n’-Bread Inn was not famous for its food, although the food was delicious; it was not famous for comfy or…
Our Wishing Well is Full, Try Us Again Tomorrow by Kolby Cruz
Pennies drowning at feet of white carnation. Wishing well overflowing, dispelling words left unspoken. Transform superstitious frustration. Hopeful beings, unjust demonstration of vision once desired, they are now forsaken. Pennies drowning, at feet of white carnation. Corroded. Atrocities do lay out in procession. Of what fate can a cent be mistaken? Transform superstitious frustration. Not…
Lemurs on Speed! by Matthew J Frink
Look at them lemurs, them lemurs on speedwith their big bugged eyes, evaluating meLook at them lemurs, them lemurs on speedwith their big bugged eyes, evaluating meInvestigate the investigators,the investigators glaring at teenagersInvestigate the investigators,the investigators always glaring at teenagers,I see ‘em with my eyesI see them with my eyes!Listen to them beavers, them beavers…
My Vanity by Eli Lundgreen
It looks on me. For looking through my dense, blue eyes to think and see something could be perfect. And it disappoints me, when vision collides,…
The Chair by Janelle Penaherrera
There it sat four legs, two arms, straight back, sturdy, steadfast, dependable, strong And there it sat at the head of the table Empty. One by one, the side chairs filled Noisy chatter cloaked the elephant in the room, the empty chair. Memories abound of a love shared, contagious laughter, family combat halted by a…
Dinner? by Marian Hess
I found a spider on my stoop! It’s time to make some spider soup! Sous vide? Air fry? …
HAUNTED HOUSE UPKEEP, OR, E.A.P.’S QUIET NIGHT IN by A.T. Banks
The hallway-clock’s ticking and the pendulum’s sticking & the ravens are barring the door with their sharp claws they’re tapping – one might call it rapping – but maven of Morse I can’t claim My only true aim – though I know it for vain – to escape someplace safe ere night’s fall, for the…
10.11.24 by Phillip Lara
A melodious verse enters and floats in the desert of my mindIn this unforgiving wasteland, the song begins in a whisper across the valley of sand.The notes come like a breeze stirring in the wind that wakes something inside of meAn angelic voice rises like a call to an oasis moving me forwardDeep in my…
TO OPHELIA WITH LOVE by A.T. Banks
I WOULD HAVE LOVED YOU FOREVER & NEVER CALLED YOU CRAZY I WOULD HAVE PULLED YOU FROM THE RIVER BEFORE IT STOLE ROSE-PINK FROM CHEEKS & TINGED YOUR TEETH A BRACKISH BLUE IF I HAD BEEN THERE YOU WOULD HAVE MADE IT OUT ALIVE I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT YOU DAISIES EVERY DAY & HELD YOUR…
Burnt Marshmallow of Contempt by Matthew J Frink
On a planet primarily made of waterin the state of Colorado with rushing rivers, flowing from the mountain.Wild Bobcatslapping up the winter water flowing down the mountainside.Flowingnear the town of Greeley.next to the university is a homewith a thirsty kitty. A small fountainWater sprinklingjets into a pool.The perfect refreshment for the tiny wannabe Snow Leopardstaring…
Counting Stars and Counting Sheep by John Fonseth
I can’t keep you awake But you can’t stay, always dreaming. Take heed behind our shadows For time can be misleading. Our act is on the road now The circus is a hit. We juggle blades and fire For anyone who’ll sit. I keep the torch light burning So this show might never stop. I…
BEWARE—THE DEAD HAVE TAKEN EARTH [& SHOW NO SIGNS OF RETURNING IT] [OR, IN WHICH THE WEIGHT OF ONE’S OWN GRAVE CAN BE ITS OWN KIND OF PURGATORY] by A.T. Banks
OPHELIA OPINES ON THE SEEDS YOU CAN BUY FROM HER SPOT IN THE GREENHOUSE LOT SHE STRAIGHTENS HER SUN HAT WITH HAND HYPOTHERMIC & DEADHEADS THE PANSIES IN PASSING COUNT DRACULA’S OUT ON THE CURB THE ONE OUTSIDE THE SINCLAIR HE’S SMOKING A SHREDDED-UP CIGARETTE & KEEPING HIS CAPE FROM THE DUST JEANNE D’ARC AIMS…