POETRY: Two Poems by Cristine Brache

  safe words Cristine Brache   i’d like to hear some safe words satin blouse, string of pearls, neck brace make more secure sounds, say a prayer, and really care tell me to go stand in the corner play the recorded sound of a dog panting from the beginning of july till the end of august between each dog’s pant i want to say i am a beautiful piece of property erect and etched in stone       tfw you can’t wear chanel to your own systematic humiliation   dramatization, waterbed city sappho’s expression while you klonopin you can cry as much as you want or write down the dates you’ve felt scared like a woman of good pedigree or latinas in the dark       CRISTINE BRACHE is an artist and poet, she lives and works in London, England. You can find her online here: cristinebrache.info.            

POETRY: Black Girls, Simone Savannah

  Black Girls Simone Savannah   Black girls try to memorize theories to save themselves, try to revive their pretty browns tight and significant. My white girlfriend, skinny thing, not much ass to carry, quotes Janelle Monáe on her Facebook page, and I think it is easy for white girls to say the body isn’t for male consumption when they’ve never been eaten up, or no, to say the body isn’t for male consumption when their pretty white isn’t said to eat men automatically. I want to ask my white girlfriend if she knows Janelle’s song might just be for us to echo, her dance for the pretty brown areolas already in the pits of eyes and bellies, for the pretty brown Jezebels reading theory, twirling dicks between their teeth while lying on their backs.   SIMONE SAVANNAH is from Columbus, Ohio. She is currently a PhD student in Creative Writing at the University of Kansas developing her interests in sexuality, Modern and Contemporary women’s poetry, and African American literature. She served as the Assistant Poetry Editor of Beecher’s 3. Her work is forthcoming and has appeared in Big Lucks and Blackberry: A Magazine. 

POETRY: SKKRMBLE 4 AFRICA, by Casey Rocheteau

  SKKRMBLE 4 AFRICA Casey Rocheteau   Teacher said the Europeons got together and carved up the continent like a Thanksgiving turkey in Berlin and I say that’s really messed up and aint nobody move or breathe too loud. Just got quiet as a panther stalking its own ghost. Made me feel like wind kicking up some old dust on a planet that used to have water.     CASEY ROCHETEAU was the recipient of the inaugural Write A House permanent residency in Detroit in September, 2014. She has attended Callaloo Writer’s Workshop, Cave Canem, and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Sicily.  Her first collection of poetry, Knocked Up On Yes, was released on Sargent Press in 2012.  Her second collection of poetry will be published on Sibling Rivalry Press in early 2016.