[[bpstrwcotob]]
The Assembly Line Flow
Move and manufacture, / produce and progress / till guide, slide, shove / devolves to push, pull, / snap back on a fallen piece.
On the Death of a Queen
there is laughter like the ripples / when something dark breaks the water, / the laughter of children colliding
with the inert thigh of their mother / stood hollering
Pennypoker1919 to His Followers
Welcome to my playground sanctuary, friends/fans. This room is an extremely passionate and sensual place filled with mystery, desire, masculinity! I am permissive and open, live to be in front the webcam. Please play along and look at the bright side.
final sale: no returns
shelf life / expiration date / say you love me before the price tag peels off
On the 56th Anniversary of My Father’s Death
I decide to join the resistance against negativity. / To celebrate that cancer is a chronic illness now. / And that an old family friend will be able to live / with his blood cancer, stage four.
Love Song Intended to Stave Off Discontinuation of Relations (Unsuccessful)
I’ll be your boy toy!
Letter from the Managing Editor
As I approach the culmination of my degree, I have gone through various iterations of a capstone idea. Perhaps a collection of short stories, a novel, a novel written through short stories.
Still Standing
After over fifty years, Warren and I began corresponding—a term I use loosely, as Warren does not write. He does not speak. His IQ hovers below 20, and he does not know who I am.
Excerpt from Salt Bones
An excerpt from Salt Bones by Jennifer Givhan (Mulholland/Little Brown, July 2025)
The Wounded Stork
The dead bird on the front-door step was a barn swallow. Makhosi recognized the copper face and glossy blue hood that continued towards a forked tail. Its clawed feet were tucked together, as if it had been arranged there.