family | Stefan Goncharov
carve a heart
into your chest
and pass on
the knife
Bio: Stefan Goncharov is from Sofia, Bulgaria. He has one published book with poetry and multiple publications in all of Bulgaria’s major literature-oriented magazines, newspapers, and internet platforms. He has also been translated and published in the notorious Turkish magazine for contemporary literature: “Edebiyatta Üç Nokta” and received first prize at the national student’s competition for poetry in Bulgaria: “Боян Пенев”. Furthermore, he works as a film critic and in 2015 was a part of the extended jury at the “Sofia International Film Fest”.
©2016 family by Stefan Goncharov
An Actress’s Daughter | Jessi Cole Jackson
I have lived a million lives
trailing my mother
from gig to gig
new town
new role
new stage
chasing the
money
prestige
hot leading man
killer dance number.
We trip, skip around the country,
slip around each other.
In each new place
she spackles on another face
while I decide my role.
In Philly I play the tomboy
with raw, rough knees
and the mouth of a sailor.
In La Jolla I play the damsel
all pink tulle skirts
and glitter gloss kisses.
In Minneapolis I play the nerd
big books shoved in my bag
and words like ‘problematic’ and ‘identity theory’ stuttering from me.
A million parallel worlds.
A million parallel lives.
Some days I hope we’ll never settle
she’ll never retire
I’ll never stop shifting.
For how would I choose who to be
with just
one
home?
Bio: Jessi Cole Jackson lives in the prettiest part of New Jersey. By day she builds costumes for a Tony Award-winning theatre. By night she studies Children’s Literature at Hollins University. Somewhere in between, she writes. Her fiction can be found at Crossed Genres Magazine, InterGalatic Medicine Show, and Cast of Wonders. You can read more about her sometimes exciting (but mostly just normal) life at jessicolejackson.com.
©2016 An Actress’s Daughter by Jessi Cole Jackson
-Infant Goddess | D. M. Patterson
How mighty are the purring cats
Who arc their way through midnight skies
And pull a golden chariot.
So small is she who sleeps inside,
Wrapped tight within a feather cloak.
What journey does she take tonight
As stars caress her tender cheeks?
The proud cats soar with gentle grace
To bear the babe across her realm.
With tails flicked high, they dare the moon
To find a child more beautiful.
The babe holds love in one small hand
A force for no mere mortal grasp.
Yet in the other she will wield
The rage within the heart of man.
And time will teach her: mind and strength
Must not be ruled lightheartedly.
Yet on this night what does she dream,
Angelic in the stardust light?
Will she return before the dawn
To tender mother’s outstretched arms?
Bio: D. M. Patterson is a student in Hollins University’s MFA in Children’s Literature program. Her children’s story The Day I Fell Into The Sky is featured in Juice Box: Inc and Drink Comics Anthology. She loves to read for inspiration and enjoyment, and appreciates the challenge of writing in a variety of genres. Patterson may be contacted at dmpwrites@gmail.com.
© 2016 Infant Goddess by D. M. Patterson
Editors note: This is my first editing project for poetry. The abundance of submissions offered a wide range of topics that were enjoyable to read and I found it hard to choose only three final selections. In the end, I chose these poems because they spoke to me about how we affect and influence those we love as we pass on our joys and demons by simply being related to them. We inherit and bequeath the best and worst parts of ourselves, and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.
