Mandrake Handshake

We microdosed the perplex
Periphery of pearplum & iceblink luck slush
Archangel root & symbolic pulchritude
This is the fate essence
Of milestones of mushrooming on brushstroke slosh & sentiment
Unravel larvae steeped in stars emptied & excrement
Patron saint of the mass paralysis of the revolution of psychedelics

Sapling

Bonsai of melted choices on lovecraftian passages parade around packages of soul & flowering wounds from a poet’s periphery bleeding genius too soon, since birth somethings not been right the weeping dream aches for landscapes not yet designed abandoned arts and static songs breed embryonic hopes and forgotten purpose decrypting code of wish is like seeing through the eyes of ancients, hollowed out and sewn into sight like a rookie with a dictionary all bible-like worshiping words of creative visions and dead revolutionaries mad hungers for acceptance and understanding dead languages all the dead poets all the dead men I love in my prose I write them for you to all the women who wrote too I write them for you. all hodge-podge mind and paperkiss poetry parasols of thought I lionize and procure and process all my meaning and put it in the trash to birth myself again. all the dead writers in me budding. now I birth myself again.

Harley Claes is a writer and entrepreneur from Detroit, Michigan. Her work is oftentimes anachronistic, surreal, philosophical, and holy erotic. She also happens to run the Beat-inspired press Angelical Ravings. Her work has appeared 50+ times in literary magazines. You can find her at https://linktr.ee/harleyclaes and on twitter @vilecherubium

About the illustrator: Brian Park is a ninth-grade student attending high school in Massachusetts with a passion for visual arts. Brian’s art portfolio encompasses a range of mediums and styles, reflecting his diverse interests and inspirations. Outside of his artistic pursuits, Brian enjoys exploring nature, reading, and spending time with friends and family. He is excited about the possibility of sharing his artwork with a wider audience and looks forward to continuing to grow as an artist.