"The Silence" by Claude Rose
these cold, silent days blend together
your eyes seldom meet mine
but each glance is a calculated blow
twisting the knife in my chest
driving the blade deeper, deeper
piercing my heart
my lungs
so I will suffocate
choke on my own blood
i will collapse in on myself
not like a dying star
no, that would be beautiful
my implosion is disastrous
internal, unseen
yet, somehow, you look through me
you
i’ve tied each of my strings to you
so when you finally end this silent, scathing torment
on a day whenever it suits you
i forget the pain
and all I can feel is relief
"Cords" by Nadia Feldman
The wind blows,
The settled snow gets thrown
In swirls, crystalline,
Quiet, and mine.
It settles again, over those cords you hoard,
Burying that thing you treat as your lord.
The white reflects from the sun,
It bores into your eyes, but you don’t run.
That gentle, silent white,
Is much calmer than the harsh blues that consume our night.
"Never Older" by Aria Cole
The bus ride to work is long,
Frigid,
The cool of the rails is jarring,
Arid.
I curl my fingers around the metal,
Touch my nails to my palm.
I look toward the window, but the view is blocked
By a mom.
Her babies, aged and grumpy, cling to her anew,
She feels the sting of winter, and they feel it too.
They push close, shoulder to shoulder,
And once again, she’s reminded, they’ll never truly be older.
A shriek as new people enter,
A laugh that follows,
The cruel biting air of winter,
Cured all her sorrows.