Two Poems
"Mask of Grief" by Gemma Guiomard
Everyone is Wrong about Worship
I built the world’s tallest, crying woman.
It rained down baptismal tears on all who came
to lay their worries at her feet. The news called me
copycat. The enemies called me witch, and you,
what did you call me? You called me treasure.
You called me force. You called me beginning gift.
You said, “You were that tall when I first saw you
eat a double cheeseburger. Everyone is wrong about worship.”
"Palm" by David Avila
One Day I Became the Bullet
On Monday, I abandoned myself at a gas station on a busy road where I’d likely be abducted or murdered. On Tuesday, I knew I’d find myself again, but that I’d be in another form like a rhododendron or a pistol. On Wednesday, I woke up a pistol. I was riding shotgun on a man’s hip almost my entire life waiting for a turn at my future. On Thursday, I wanted my tongue back. On Friday, I wanted to touch something and not only be transferred from the hip to the bedside drawer. On Saturday, I became the bullet, and abandoned myself again, moving fast from hand and pistol and trigger and barrel, and my beloved body. I entered the heart of another man. I was warm until we lay cold together, all Sunday afternoon.
About the Author
Amanda Chiado is the author of Vitiligod: The Ascension of Michael Jackson (Dancing Girl Press). Her poetry and short fiction has most recently appeared in Rhino, The Pinch Journal, and Barren Magazine. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart & Best of the Net. www.amandachiado.com
About the artists
Gemma Guiomard is a multidisciplinary artist. Organic matter, repurposed items, and poetry are key materials in her practice. The heart of her work revolves around the themes of resilience, decay, and liminality.
Gemma has exhibited several times this year. Two of her organic-matter sculptures were printed in Superpresent's Winter 2024. Gulf Stream Literary Journal published several of her drawings in Issue 34. This summer, No.5 Gallery in Vermillion, South Dakota included her work in an external exhibition about feminism in the post-apocalypse. Gemma's organic matter sculptures are on exhibition this October/ November with Howard County Arts Council in Maryland. In previous years, Z Publishing included her poetry in their collection of Arkansas's Best Emerging Poets and again in their 2018 collection America's Best Emerging Poets.
Having experienced psychosis as a teen, later diagnosed with schizophrenia, David Cleofas Avila writes and makes art & music in order to better square away the sequelae of life. His art is available at www.davidcleofasavila.com, while his music is on Spotify, iTunes, iHeart radio, and other online outlets, with his poetry published in Oddball Magazine, The Poetry Cove, and WILDsound Poetry Festival.