best of issue

exsanguinate the azimuth

i'm sorry, the rune repeats as the crimson line floods

the razor sharp laceration draws and the bright red

contrasts against the baby soft hands, not yet been burned by the conflagration of creation

i'm sorry, the requiem repeats as the boundary mark continues to weep

a cascade that cataracts to the ridges on the palms that knew god's word better

like an israelite in the battle of jericho - crossing the river -

gravity —

turns the sink into a hell as the borders between skin and air, body and earth continue to diminish and relinquish the reins of their reign

the red borealis burns with the deep hue of Việt kiều* and i -

where am i, a sputnik to

the red of mars on my fingertips the red sea splits and passage is granted the field of vision shrinks as a bloody mary is left staring at the mirror

the mold, the black mold, metastasizes in the background a testament to - the colors of a panda soaked in vermillion liquid mercury

a flowing ambrosia of nước mắm* becomes imprinted in the cacophony of lonesome

as the red, aqueous luck of Tết* contradicts the disarray in the thin slit staring

at the echo of desolation like a deer caught in the headlights of mercy

as thin slits on face and hand dance in accompaniment with the effervescent precipitation -

the eye and the incision in a proxy war through the chambers in the chest Thiên An Tran, TX, Early College High School ___________________________

*Vietnamese word for “Vietnamese people who have left Vietnam”

*Fish sauce

* Vietnamese New Year​