Depression

by Sarah Litchney

All these structures fall in repression.
I am depressed and on this canvas I write on.
I attempt to make dazzling pictures with majestic peacocks and screaming sirens,
but only see the machinery of decaying forest.

You can have that part of me you desire,
all eight legs and venomous fangs,
with crawling silence of my footsteps,
I bite off heads and sliver in my solitude.
St. John was offered on this silver platter.
He made what was mortal some plea to the gods,
but I take head without offering any comfort.
I have no will to be compassionate.

The mind becomes a stretch of mute blackness.
The body is the vessel of torment.
I pull out each eyelash and grind them against my dry skin.
I seek the companionship of abandonment.

So clear a liar to myself and my other selves,
I close my eyes in hope of night.
No one to stop the circulation,
of rights and wrongs and ailments of blight.

###

Sarah Litchney is a student studying Creative Writing and English at Southern New Hampshire University. She has been published in a college literary journal twice for her poetry, and she won a national poetry contest when she was ten in middle school. She currently pole dances and Olympic weight lifts in her free time, and she loves dancing salsa with her Hispanic family on the weekends.

Empty Husks

by Bryan Pender

wandering aimlessly amongst hollow

buildings, encasements in which to gather and
pretend that we are, any of us, of
any interest at all.

Long ago we abandoned what worth
there was,
the little substance that was ours.
Now just carbon copies
all done a million times before, to be done
a million times more.

Sounds and gestures repeated
over and again, ceaselessly. Each,
our own little contribution to the cold, robotic toil
daily
that forms these excuses
for lives.

Indelibly moving forward
being pulled and pulling along others
in our wake
dragging them
so we’re not alone, the irrefutable drag
of mass, the crowd as its own person,
consciousness,
monster that we create.

###
Bryan Pender is a writer of absolutely no repute or bearing whatsoever who was born in Midland, Ontario, Canada. Currently he resides in Toronto, Ontario, where he graduated with a B.A. in History from York University. Bryan has traveled extensively to such places as New York, Paris, London, Rome and Athens.

The Homeless Man

by Kirstin Maguire

He uttered a quiet plea when I hopped off the commuters tube
Just near the shop I was headed to for that night’s feast.
But it was hard to hear him above the din of headphones and people in the street,
And they all stood above him –
He was easy to lose and I was busy,
I never thought to stop and talk.

He said nothing parked up against the lamppost in the cold twilight hours
Sealing tired body under tattered quilt.
He didn’t resonate in my head as I left him,
No profound words had passed his lips to utter in my head again –
I never thought to seek understanding of his image.

And the blokes at the bar,
Well-groomed, Friday night, ties slipping, words slurring, exclaimed:
‘If you give him money he’ll only spend it on drugs!’
The same blokes who went on to get a few lines to keep the night going,
The same blokes who felt no sense of irony as they had ‘got up this morning to earn money’
I never thought to question.

He disappeared one day,
I sometimes wonder where

###
Kirstin Maguire is 28 years old, born and raised in London, of Irish parents. Since graduating with a Drama Degree in 2006, she has worked in the charity sector and continues to do so. This has often involved using the arts in various settings including prisons, homeless shelters, and community settings facilitaing workshops and project managing commissions working with groups of all ages. She is currently working on strategy and development in a national mental health charity to improve opportunities for young people experiencing mental health difficulties. She has a keen belief in the power of the arts as a medium to change our political landscape and is a passionate believer in writing as a way of achieving this. Her literary influences include John Steinbeck, the Beat Poets, Surrealism, Romantic and Transcendental Poetry. Theatrical influences on her writing include the work of Antonin Artaud, Augusto Boal and Bertolt Brecht. She is often inspired by eastern philosophy in developing the content of her pieces, as well as personal experiences, and a wide range of music, most notably that of protest song. Although Kirstin has been writing for a number of years it is only recently she has started putting work out in the public domain, including through her blog, kirstinmaguire.blogspot.co.uk which she updates regularly. She looks forward to writing more in the future and developing her work.

Outside, Inside

by Jennifer-Crystal Johnson

On the outside, I smile.
I socialize,
I laugh,
I have a good time…
And most of the time,
It works.

On the inside, I cry.
I worry,
I wonder,
I feel hopeless and afraid…
And most of the time,
It hurts.

On the outside, I sing.
I am strong,
I love,
I’m determined…
And most of the time,
It works.

On the inside, I mourn.
I contain,
I maintain,
I cage anger and fear…
And most of the time,
It hurts.

On the outside, I dance.
I’m alive,
I ignite,
I focus on the pieces
That haven’t been broken.

And you know what?
Most of the time,
It works.

###
Jennifer-Crystal Johnson is originally from Germany, but was raised all over. She has published one novella under her former last name, The Outside Girl: Perception is Reality (Publish America, 2005 – this will be out of print in 2013), a poetry book, Napkin Poetry (Broken Publications, 2010), and a collection of poetry, art, and prose called Strangers with Familiar Faces (Broken Publications, 2011). Her poem, Yin & Yang, was featured on Every Writer’s Resource’s Poem a Day site. One of her short stories, The Clinic, has been featured in Jack Meets Jill, and her short horror story, The Huntress, has been featured in Zombie Coffee Press. Her poetry has appeared in various anthologies including Theatre of the Mind (Noble House, 2003) and Invoking the Muse (Noble House, 2004). She currently works as the Managing Editor for Phati’tude Literary Magazine published by the IAAS, freelance writer and editor, and is working toward a degree in creative writing. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her 3 kids and four cats. Her annual domestic violence anthology can be found at www.soulvomit.com and her publishing company is Broken Publications: www.brokenpublications.com. As of January 1st, 2013, a new literary magazine will be published every 2 months, beginning in February. The site is still under construction, but the magazine will be titled Chronicles [insert story here]. Her author web site can be found at www.jennifercrystaljohnson.com.