Woman is a Root – Molly M. Ryan

Touch does not sit in the veins of a petal, Does not wilt when the bloom of spring Withers away. It can’t be pruned, It does not decompose with the dead and discarded To become a new whole. Woman is not a flower. A flower Is only beautiful for the season. Groomed, Clipped, arranged, until …

I Believe You. – Susan M. Conway

I Believe You. When you say there are ghosts, when you say you've seen them. I have too, so we aren't much too different, you and I. When you said goodbye to a living person you'd die for is the cruelest fate. When you say it is easier to hate… I believe you. I've had …

There Is Strength in Our Stories: checklist [ ] / (fulfill half before she touches you)- Arianne True

Arianne True is a queer indigenous poet, folk artist, and teacher from Seattle, and a graduate of the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Arianne has taught with Writers in the Schools and the Richard Hugo House, is a Hedgebrook alum, and has been published by the Boston Review and LitHub.

Speak – Christine Ray

there is an art to talking everything about what is nothing while saying nothing about what is everything to paint convincing illusions of intimacy candor that successfully deflect the curious eye while frantically stuffing down the secrets that chew at your gut the poison of shame corroding your veins the self-blame you inhale daily into …

There Is Strength in Our Stories: Red – Nikki Marrone

Sometimes I leave the blood on my skin, To remember that red is not the colour of violence. And that I am not a victim waiting to happen. This space between my legs is not a crime scene. Red is not a blood stained sidewalk, It is not the cut of a prostitute’s gown, Sometimes …

There Is Strength in Our Stories: I have been broken many times before – Tianna G. Hansen

I am not fragile, but I have been broken many times before. I have shattered in a million pieces un-fix-able, yet still risen from the debris, rubble pile of disgrace and shame, silenced to keep the truth from bubbling out of my lips like acid, spat in faces of my attackers, those who have instilled …

There is Strength in Our Stories: Market Penetration – Tamara Fricke

Selling old wares in a new bar he saunters towards a woman sitting alone. She refuses to acknowledge the approach to his buddies he proclaims, “She’s a dyke.” Her lover returns and takes her hand as she kisses red satin. Jack-of-all-trades, master of a few, Tamara resides in Springfield, MA with a rather ungrateful cat.

There Is Strength in Our Stories: “on the record” series – Arianne True

  Arianne True is a queer indigenous poet, folk artist, and teacher from Seattle, and a graduate of the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Arianne has taught with Writers in the Schools and the Richard Hugo House, is a Hedgebrook alum, and has been published by the Boston Review and LitHub.

Til It Happens to You – Lady Gaga

Incredibly powerful and potentially triggering. https://youtu.be/ZmWBrN7QV6Y "Till It Happens To You" (from "The Hunting Ground" soundtrack) You tell me it gets better, it gets better in time You say I'll pull myself together, pull it together, you'll be fine Tell me, what the hell do you know? What do you know? Tell me how the …

There Is Strength in Our Stories: Concealed – aj forrester

Dry grass taller than me, color of my naked skin, waves in the wind, slices like razors on my limbs scarred from climbing the camphor trees trembling, lying helpless on a bed of dirt and mud, briars peppering my ankles sting, leaving tiny drops of blood like no see ums grass like bars of a …