Vacation

Photographer - Tobi Brun

Vacation

Everyone wants to find a pink island

I alone seek the amber. In the sand

The seashells whisper: ‘Are you green or blue

Watching us bob on the foam? Is it true

The homes of the dead stay homes on the land?’

The mollusc-ghosts and the jeering sea strand

More than shells upon the shore. In the bland

Frothing waves, soap-rinsings, I see the hue

Everyone wants to find.

Isle of hiraeth in the palm of my hand,

Turn not your bitter neem-bark rose now. Stand

Firm in my fading memory. Your dew

And sulphur are alike dear on this new

Sea-leached ground lined with the pink seashell brand

Everyone wants to find.

Hibah Shabkhez is a writer of the half-yo literary tradition, an erratic language-learning enthusiast, and a happily eccentric blogger from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has previously appeared in Pleiades, Miracle Monocle, Glassworks, Windsor Review, Moria, CommuterLit, and a number of other literary magazines. Studying life, languages, and literature from a comparative perspective across linguistic and cultural boundaries holds a particular fascination for her.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/HibahShabkhez 

Twitter X: @hibahshabkhez

Insta: @shabkhez_hibah

Marinated In Sepia

Photographer - Tobi Brun

Marinated In Sepia

The memory of innocence nags me

like lost keys and catchy headlines half-read,

wrenches me back like taps and stoves left on.

Bring back a sturdy, leafless tree, it cries

with branches like claws turned upward to catch

yourself as you fall from the sky.

Marinated in sepia, the three

intertwined demons of pain, shame, and dread

rake across my heart and pierce my soul. Born

whole but sliced by the unknown, child-me tries

once more to gather stray how-tos and match

its wits against the world; and I -

I must watch it fail again.

Hibah Shabkhez is a writer of the half-yo literary tradition, an erratic language-learning enthusiast, and a happily eccentric blogger from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has previously appeared in Pleiades, Miracle Monocle, Glassworks, Windsor Review, Moria, CommuterLit, and a number of other literary magazines. Studying life, languages, and literature from a comparative perspective across linguistic and cultural boundaries holds a particular fascination for her.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/HibahShabkhez 

Twitter X: @hibahshabkhez

Insta: @shabkhez_hibah

Faits Divers

Photographer - Tobi Brun

Faits Divers

I scan each page for names

I do not wish to find;

Names of people,

Names of places,

Names of things.

I scroll each feed for names

I do not wish to find;

Asking of both,

Of all sides:

You are not coming for us next, are you?

Are you?

Hibah Shabkhez is a writer of the half-yo literary tradition, an erratic language-learning enthusiast, and a happily eccentric blogger from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has previously appeared in Pleiades, Miracle Monocle, Glassworks, Windsor Review, Moria, CommuterLit, and a number of other literary magazines. Studying life, languages, and literature from a comparative perspective across linguistic and cultural boundaries holds a particular fascination for her.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/HibahShabkhez 

Twitter X: @hibahshabkhez

Insta: @shabkhez_hibah

The Pickiest Eaters

"The Pickiest Eaters" pokes fun at how difficult it can be for birders to attract orioles. While most birds enjoy bird seed, orioles really do prefer fresh orange slices and grape jelly -- there are even special oriole feeders meant to serve these specific treats. It took several years for them to start eating at the feeder in my grandpa's backyard, even with frequent refills and keeping the area very clean. Good luck to anyone else trying to feed these picky eaters!”

Jasmine Kasper is a multimedia artist and writer who focuses on nature, environmental stewardship, and health. Her goal is to make learning about the world around us a fun, positive experience. You can often find her outdoors, creating art, or frantically researching something interesting to share with others. Visit her portfolio website jasminekasper.com or get in touch over email at officialjasminekasper@gmail.com!

Self Portrait in Narrative

Photographer - Tobi Brun

Self Portrait in Narrative

Lucy J.

There is a small white scar

Almost invisible, hugging the right side of my knee

i used to play basketball with my dad

i slipped, slicing my knee open

i think i slipped, smooth and stinging

i think i slipped, i have always been light on my feet

i think i slipped, foul play is part of the game i never learned

i think i slipped

i think

i am six years old, face first on the edge of the court

learning how to speak again, while you

are spitting red into my tired lungs

i slipped, over half healed ridges from the time before.

as you walk inside, leaving me to study the blood and dirt

i begin to whisper to the insects unfurling around me

watching them creep and crumble and curl

i begin to speak because there was no one there to hear me

I am 24 now, at the edge of my seat

Listening through clenched fists and grinding teeth

I am watching you tend to the child that is both of our second chances at paternal love

And I am realizing now, your laughter

Is a metaphor that has lived on the tip of my tongue for years now

i am weeping silently,

creeping and crumbling and curling

contorting my body in ways i did not know possible

i am asking you to stop

i am waiting for my turn to speak

I am begging for you to try with me once more

And what I ask of you to realize

This is only my recollection of the memory.

I am humanizing you,

In this recreation of myself

I know, I too could slip into that delicate darkness

A slice of you that is braided into my blood

So instead, I tend to it as you would a cut

Too tender to touch.