Art & poetry: October 2023

^{she shine / celeste sylvester / Instagram: @‌seasons_of_saturn}

Hipfire Logic

By KNN

Too many casual thinkers, beware!
Their aim is lacking in care
It strains on the system, no fair
Society has no room to share
With the sniper thinkers who dare
To shoot true bullets and clear the air
This stresses me to pull my hair
What a dilemma that warrants despair
All it takes is a marksman to wear
The clothes of a cowboy to repair
This art of rhetoric that sits over there
On a poor excuse for an armchair
I’m not being harsh, just aware
Of the urgency with little time to spare
This is a priority, my cross to bear
It’s about the moral health and welfare
Of a world that is rationally impaired
How are these cowboys ruining things?
They talk about winter as if it’s spring
Their arguments are glued with string
Opinions sound like bad jokes they sing
To top it off, it’s wrong what they bring
Making truth and logic seem boring
Compared to their pray and spraying
Their shots in the dark hit only chaos
Who can show the way without a cuss?

Hey, mom.

By Lyssa Banks

Hey mom, I graduated high school.
Hey mom, he proposed.
Hey mom, I got married.
Hey mom, I started college.
Hey mom, I dropped out.
Hey mom, I lost a baby.
Hey mom, I lost another baby.
Hey mom, I’m pregnant. This one stuck.
Hey mom, I’m in labor, and I’m scared.
Hey mom, I had the most beautiful boy.
Hey mom, I’m really depressed.
Hey mom, I got diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder; what do I do?
Hey mom, I don’t think I can be the best mother right now.
Hey mom, I got divorced.
Hey mom, I made some bad choices.
Hey mom, I’m sober now.
Hey mom, I met someone.
Hey mom, I lost another baby.
Hey mom, life is getting hard to live. I don’t know if I can do it.
Hey mom, I started college again.
Hey mom, he proposed.
Hey mom, I’m planning a wedding and I’m lost.
Hey mom, your grandson started kindergarten, and I’m so proud.
Hey mom, I miss you.

I miss you, mom. R.I.P. 09/11/2000

"I prayed and prayed every night to a man I don't believe in to bring you back"

https://shortandstoutblogs.wordpress.com/2023/09/11/hey-mom/

The difference between the ocean

By Sarah Avenir

The difference between the ocean
and this cocktail party
might be the distance
between stars or
language or
the memories of grandfathers
whittling mysteries on porch swings,
calling the hunting dogs
home after dark