^{Soul on My Sleeve (Watercolor, colored pencil) / Angelique Spence}

This painting expresses my femininity unapologetically. To perceive femininity without negative bias seems to be hard for most due to the social construct that women are ‘the other’ or less than. To be a woman in that environment is to be vulnerable. Even as an opinionated feminist, I too find myself shrinking under the pressures of patriarchy. Sometimes when I have to show up for myself publicly, I tend to water down my self-expression to be taken seriously as a woman. With this painting, I express myself in a way that I love without worry of perception.

Release Me

My crime carved out into years,
months, days, hours, minutes,
even down to every last second.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock ...
The clock is deafening.
Except to the sound of my own voice,
of course I can still fucking hear that!

Memories are exhumed, dredging up our past.
I still live through your letters. Your crimson kiss
smudged and faded, I can no longer taste you there.
Your scent faint and distant, yet it still lingers within
my mind.

I would burn this entire world away,
just to have one more moment with you.
To gaze into your empty eyes.
To touch you.
To smell you.
To Taste you.
Consuming the bone white ash of your skin,
such a sweet little thing you can be.

Like the razor's edge on a lonesome night,
I call out to you,
"Release Me!"

S.E. Canella
Washington State Penitentiary

Gang Green

Thoughts and prayers

For the Billionaires

And all of the CEOs,

Who seemed surprised

Not giving a fuck

Could be reciprocal.

— Charles Henry

Oh Rascal Children of Gaza

Oh rascal children of Gaza.

You who consistently disturbed me

with your screams under my window.

You who filled every morning

with rush and chaos.

You who broke my vase

and stole the lonely flower from my balcony.

Come back,

and scream as you want

and break all the vases.

Steal all the flowers.

Come back…

Just come back…

— Khaled Juma, Poems from Palestine

Meet Me (Shattered)

When I ask for
Affirmation
To Chase away the doubt

In the kisses
I passionately
Press upon your lips

How I cling to you
While waves of emotion
Debilitate me

As I stare
With adoration
During insignificant moments

For the intimate ways
I reassure
That I love you

All this, and yet
Im left waiting…
Half way

— Stephanie M