Tang Matrix | John Wolff
—for Russell Lux1 I picked those words as if mad, suddenly seeing myself resignedly, somewhat obsessed, I live as in a distant world. —John Wolff 1Explaining an Read More …
Category: 2021 Issue
Eleanor | Lorynn Hackert
Eleanor was happy to be home. Her small (although she prefers the word comfortable) apartment served as a silent sanctuary in a world that seemed all too loud most days Read More …
Four Haiku | Rachel Shoebridge
The icecaps melted— In the frozen lake ahead. Summer, is coming. Stars in the night sky, fireworks on the fourth of July— The future is bright. Leaves fall around me, Read More …
Apollo, Icarus, and I | Jessica Smith
The Fallen Child As He bore the sight of a golden chariot crossing above Poseidon, The prophetic God felt hellfire sear His back. Fear and glee swelled in His chest, Read More …
Confined | Grace Taranko
There wasn’t another house, shop, farm, or any indication of civilization for miles. Oliver knew this from the sleepless nights he’d spent up in the library. He didn’t dare ask Read More …
A Love Letter to The Unknowing Watchers | Lorynn Hackert
When I close my eyes I see yours, and his, and his, too, staring back at me. The love(s) of my life. You are always watching me, and you don’t Read More …
Grace | Debra Bialik
In the middle of the meadow, a weeping willow, quiet, still— until a gentle breeze blew. A meadow filled with wildflowers of many colors waiting for someone to pick— shared Read More …
Goddess | Stephanie Wagner
The women gather to take up space heaving their weighty bodies into tippy metal lawn chairs They laugh so large you can see the backs of their throats and cry Read More …
A Year in Haikus | Lorynn Hackert
Spring The soft lamp light on the cold glass window lit the rain on the other side. Summer The morning rain was hot beneath my calloused feet— the sun’s rays Read More …
The Moon | Grace Taranko
The moon yearns to greet the sun. To pass her fleeting rays, her warmth. She carries brilliance and joy while he carries momentary dreams, the majority of these visions forgotten, Read More …
Under a New Moon in August | Stephanie Wagner
We sat in unsteady chairs, mosquitos whirring in our ears, the fire belching sparks into the black You stretched towards me with softened hands I stilled You slipped on my Read More …
Saving Grace | Stephanie Wagner
Three years ago, they spent a weekend away, just the two of them. They drank mimosas in bed, soaking in a giant tub big enough for two and making love Read More …
The Dark Matter Gallery
Click any image to enjoy it full-size. Also, please see the Contributors page for bios on the photographers.
Hold Me | Kennedi Hansen
Your words hold me But your breath forgot to Catch me. How can I love? When the only way I know how to Is in the way you left me? Read More …
Curse | Lorynn Hackert
You left me this way. A body blown apart by fast moving metal. Fur, feathers, feces, flattened between the cracks of the hot August pavement. What is left of the Read More …
The Ides of March | Ndio Mitchell
Bedlam trembles in the theatre. Red mist rises numinous in the morning light. Rising up past Pompey, encased in stone, watching, imperious. Up, past spiteful Brutus, unsteady as he is Read More …
Nothing is as Good as Skinny Feels | Lorynn Hackert
Our bones will lie beneath gravestones that read Died At Her Goal Weight. We will smile as the cold Earth hugs us, for we are finally in the body that Read More …
Anew | Darby Johnsen
Seed after seed after seed after stalk Growth of weeds and trepidation of block. Lingering ennui, if not now, when? The ambivalence of beginning over again. ~Darby Johnsen
Contact | Emily Robinson
There she stood. Rigid and shivering in the cold, coat collar upturned against the howling wind. Her mane of raven hair was flying around her porcelain face, which was turned Read More …
A Trip To Annie’s | Amanda Babcock
I’d only come to the store for some groceries on my way home from the bank and didn’t plan to linger. I didn’t dress for it, either, in baggy jeans Read More …
Yellow Tulips | Tandy Sturgeon
After the sixth grade graduation, her father would have to go back to Los Angeles. The thirteen-year-old girl, when she eventually grew up to become a woman, never remembered wearing Read More …
An Operation In Darkness | Eli Shoup
“This is a low-class operation, right?” Mr. Finch asked. He warily clutched the holster at his thigh, glancing at his annoyed “comrades.” The claustrophobic interior of the armored truck lurched, Read More …
Stephanie | Emily Dykman
Miles of sage green grass, pursued by a gentle river, lead to beautiful meadows. ~Emily Dykman
It Starts With a Lie | Stephanie Wagner
You spit out the words and a corset of anger wraps my belly I armor blank-faced, shuttered in a fortress of calm, waves of unsatisfying breath barely rippling the surface Read More …
A Fact Among Others | Ndio Mitchell
On that first night, it was “It’s not your fault. I love you the same as ever.” Whether the untender silence between them was on account of him or his Read More …
Christina | Ashley Ramirez
Knowing as far as the surface, hiding what’s down below. The waves are fierce as the heavy wind blows, but with enough time, the waves calm. Finally, the ships are Read More …
Four Haiku | Russell Lux
Blowing sand and snow. A seagull flock soars over waves; only by inches. Walking along beach; a frog hops out of the surf— Looks, then jumps back in. Parasailing dust Read More …
Crimson Mandolin | Russell Lux
Pain as inspiration blesses with blind distaste. They stare at the sun; taste the mandolins blade, all for artistic rapture. Becoming Eve’s forgotten child, alone in paradise, nobody listens to Read More …
Nautic | Arthur Demorest
Churning tides rip through the night. A berserk storm drowns ample sleep. Scarring winds tatter the mind. Shades of pain that color the storm. Holding sails steady for calmer tides. Read More …
Selfless Love | Missy Gomez
“I can’t do this!” I cried to my mother as she caressed my cheek. My Aunt was on the other side of me, holding my hand. I watched as the Read More …
Through The Eyes of a Child | Debra Bialik
Discovering the secrets of our world, through the innocence of play. Dancing to the sound of the music, Trust, giving unconditional love, to those around them. They are heeding the Read More …