The Rose

By Sara Chana Brummel A flower is so beautiful. Yet there's always that twinge of dread at the inevitability of them wilting and dying away. That was the feeling I first had when I realized I was in love. I reveled in its beauty and dreaded its ultimate demise. One night, I sat crying when …

Life’s a Play

I felt happy that day, and beautiful, truly beautiful. The right side of the bed followed me everywhere that morning; my teeth were extra sparkly and my eyes matched. I rejoiced in feeling not a single shred of anxiety, of guilt, of self-loathing. I was beautiful and intelligent and kind, the world smiled at me …

What Comes and Goes

by Cat Coule Love what comes.  When you are in the darkness and snakes crawl through open holes in your body and spiders walk up your spine with their babies on their back.  Love what comes. When you are in the light and butterflies drink from the nectar of your hair and kittens make a …

Pursuit of Happiness

by Dan Puzzo Writing about self-encouragement and the pursuit of happiness was something I felt ill-equipped to do. After all, I am by no means a happy-go-lucky person. In fact it’s quite the opposite; I’ve wrestled with depression and, increasingly, anxiety for most of my life. Surely I wouldn’t be the one to consult about …

Parental Dissonance II

"Inverted Bell Curve" By Patrick Delehanty No relationship in my life has brought me greater joy, deeper sadness, bigger smiles, or more tears than the one I have with my parents. All of these emotions happen on very natural and universal levels to which we can all relate but are unique to the lives to …

A Five-Word Sentence

Current meditation: Working on and embracing genuine connection. Keeping an open mind and allowing other opinions and viewpoints to seep their way into my consciousness. Making sense of hurt and loss, and using the sadness to propel me into a positive, calm place. wondering why when he says "I'm an expert at reading people" I …

Spider Lightning

This poem came to me in a series of color splashes and shapes. Does that make sense? Probably not, maybe I've been watching too many Instagram videos where artists create beautiful masterpieces by throwing paint in a seemingly haphazard way. I was getting coffee with a friend a few weeks ago and, as we were …

‘Tis the Season

For the longest time [or so it feels] I’ve been cooped up, afraid to leave my little space and room lest something uncomfortable or unfamiliar occurs. What a contrast to the person I used to be! Not even a year ago, I would jump at any excuse to go outside, to meet new people, experience …

Up

My head is never where I expect it to be I let it do its own thing and hang on for the ride a white water rafting adventure, picture it now cool, calm water letting you lean back and forget where you are for the moment then the wind changes and you’re almost thrown off …

A Monsoon for a Butterfly

Putting myself first was never meant to be a heartbreaking thing your blue eyes surrounded by red, trying to hold back the wave and it washed over me and I was devastated for you I wanted to kill whoever was hurting you whoever was making your face twist in pain I’d kill them, I swore …