This month we offer skies black, a cloud corked inside an umbrella, and the germination of the moon’s sanity.

In April we stay with:

   soil

Submission guidelines can be found here.

love,
 amanda lezra 
Editor-in-Chief

rays of light streaming into a cave from above, viewed from inside the cave.

SOLEUS

—a muscle that aids in walking,
running, and keeping balance—

 

I am a river bottled up
—in a swell of wine
I am a sapling growing
—fingers into the soil
I am a cloud corked
—inside an umbrella
I am a leaf clutching
—to the ledge of branch
I am a wind captured
—in a plastic bag
I am a waterfall
—waiting to spray sweat
I am a tree always
—balancing the world

Raymond Luczak is the author and editor of 26 books, including once upon a twin: poems (Gallaudet University Press); Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories (Modern History Press); and QDA: A Queer Disability Anthology (Squares & Rebels). His work has appeared in Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. An inaugural Zoeglossia Fellow, he lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Pedagogy of Father Vaskode

Pitambar Naik is an advertising professional. He reads creative nonfiction for Mud Season Review. His work appears or is forthcoming in Notre Dame Review, Packingtown Review, Ghost City Review, Another Chicago Magazine, Glass Journal, The Indian Quarterly, Outlook, Vayavya and elsewhere. He’s a book of poetry, The Anatomy of Solitude (Hawakal). He grew up in Kalahandi, Odisha and lives in Hyderabad, India.  

— how to fertilize

be grateful
for they haven’t made our skies
black & poisonous
yet

be nostalgic
in advance
to capture the moment &
cling to it
witness the decade/day/beats &
kaleidoscopes of
“it hasn’t been so bad until…”

be in awe
at the marvel you find
for its wings are frail
hold your breath take
good care of it let it
sing &

dance on your future
grave soil still porous
breathing out your last
words
of
“we were beautiful”

Al Yen is a dreamer, artist in love, and poet from Ukraine. With Jules Hazard, his partner in life and purpose, he learns and tells of love, passion, and freedom. Explore primal devotion with the two poets at yourlocaldreamers.com.

This month we offer skies black, a cloud corked inside an umbrella, and the germination of the moon’s sanity.

In April we stay with:

   soil

Submission guidelines can be found here.

love,
 amanda lezra 
Editor-in-Chief

rays of light streaming into a cave from above, viewed from inside the cave.

SOLEUS

—a muscle that aids in walking,
running, and keeping balance—

 

I am a river bottled up
—in a swell of wine
I am a sapling growing
—fingers into the soil
I am a cloud corked
—inside an umbrella
I am a leaf clutching
—to the ledge of branch
I am a wind captured
—in a plastic bag
I am a waterfall
—waiting to spray sweat
I am a tree always
—balancing the world

Raymond Luczak is the author and editor of 26 books, including once upon a twin: poems (Gallaudet University Press); Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories (Modern History Press); and QDA: A Queer Disability Anthology (Squares & Rebels). His work has appeared in Poetry, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. An inaugural Zoeglossia Fellow, he lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Pedagogy of Father Vaskode

Pitambar Naik is an advertising professional. He reads creative nonfiction for Mud Season Review. His work appears or is forthcoming in Notre Dame Review, Packingtown Review, Ghost City Review, Another Chicago Magazine, Glass Journal, The Indian Quarterly, Outlook, Vayavya and elsewhere. He’s a book of poetry, The Anatomy of Solitude (Hawakal). He grew up in Kalahandi, Odisha and lives in Hyderabad, India.  

— how to fertilize

be grateful
for they haven’t made our skies
black & poisonous
yet

be nostalgic
in advance
to capture the moment &
cling to it
witness the decade/day/beats &
kaleidoscopes of
“it hasn’t been so bad until…”

be in awe
at the marvel you find
for its wings are frail
hold your breath take
good care of it let it
sing &

dance on your future
grave soil still porous
breathing out your last
words
of
“we were beautiful”

Al Yen is a dreamer, artist in love, and poet from Ukraine. With Jules Hazard, his partner in life and purpose, he learns and tells of love, passion, and freedom. Explore primal devotion with the two poets at yourlocaldreamers.com.

Sign up to receive a new issue of Rough Cut Press on the first of each month.

We will never share your contact information without explicit permission.