Audre Lorde asks us to view life as something to be experienced, not a problem to solve — to view our feelings as cherished sources of power and knowledge instead of treasures to bury deep inside. Our poetry and dreams unlock those wells of power that can lead to true lasting action.
Butterflies
A poem recounting a personal experience with queerness and trauma and coming to terms with it.
Queer Next Up: Alex Penland
Alex Penland (they/them) is an author, creative writing student, Smithsonian alumnus, and linguist . They primarily write SFF (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction), but also dabble in poetry.
parajitos
A poem about the way our institutions and some people fail to protect young trans people and profit off their deaths in different ways, while the people who loved them are left to deal with the actual grief.
Roots
Illustrated by Chrys Marr (She/They) This piece was originally published in our Spring 2022 print issue “Reflections of Radiance.“
i hate it that you know me
magician you don’t listen
all your tricks have worked on me
I’m in a hundred million pieces and we last spoke in my dreams
please lead me back inside the gardens where our lives and love have peaked
Aliveness
Artwork by Cole Lopez (They/Them) The morning my grandfather died I slept. An ocean away I dreamt that an angel leaned to kiss his cheek And I tried to push it away but instead I screamed My hands passing through…
Dressing Room
Graphic by Kelly (She/Her) I’m in a department store trying on clothes and they all fit in the technical sense, not too tight and in colors that make my eyes pop and my mother tells me I look beautiful, so…
