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 Feb 2014 Sofia Paderes
Jedd Ong
Raindrops on
My windowsill
Race down
Paths that
Light trace for it,

Faint slants
Which carve
Niches for
The innocent—

Mornings which
Cough faintly,
Smoke lingering

On her throat
But still singing.
 Feb 2014 Sofia Paderes
Chris
I’ve been around long enough
to know these wounds don’t heal.
I will wake up tomorrow
and put down half a bottle
of hydrogen peroxide,
hoping the void inside
my chest won’t get infected.
This ribcage is missing
more than just bones.
The black hole I met
in my living room
decided to stay for dinner.
He said you’re doing great.
I poured another glass
of regret and told him
that’s ironic.
I’ve realized this is just what
“okay” has become;
fists embedded in sheetrock promises,
sitting alone in the rooms where
everyone told me they would stay.
 Feb 2014 Sofia Paderes
brooke
i drink my weight in
stress relief tea, although
i'm not sure how cinnamon
relieves that and i've spent
at least two days watching
Korean dramas on Netflix
fighting in my sleep and
trying desperately to figure
out what exactly it is that I want
and would i be happy with this
want because I feel the way
soft baby tomatoes do at the
bottom of the bowl
(c) Brooke Otto 2014
When my mother is tired, I offer to make her tea. She wants a beer, and even though I don't like it, I pour it for her anyway.

When my mother is tired, I offer to make her fried chicken. She says she doesn't want me to cook for her.. 19 years of cooking my meals and she doesn't want me to cook for her.. So I put in two pieces of toast and burn it just how she likes it and put on extra butter because I know she likes that too.

When my mother is tired, I tell her to call me on her bad day, tell her that even if I do nothing but sit there, it'll be okay because she doesn't have to face the sadness alone.

When my mother is tired, her eyes make triangles and her shoulders slump and she smiles so hard that I think it must hurt her jaw bones. The spirit of her eyes goes dim and her forehead forms creases like mountains and when my mother is tired..

I just want to see her sleep and dream. She so deserves to dream.
My mother had a bad day. The worst in a long time. Take off your armor mama, I'll take your place on the front lines.
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