Special FeaturerbdAugust 31, 2018Ben Nardolilli, poetry, special feature

Ben Nardolilli: Lonely Radio Playing

Special FeaturerbdAugust 31, 2018Ben Nardolilli, poetry, special feature

DANSA OR BALADA

Lonely radio playing,
Lonely hips swaying, I see
Loneliness through
The open window sill.

Am I so alone?
Am I so by myself, that I
Am content
To imagine she imagines me?

TO THE SOMMELIER

I am not looking for anything that goes with fish,
    I know what goes with it, saltwater,
And the most perfect companion to cheese is bread,
    For dessert, I only need a cup of coffee,
You keep speaking to me about hints of this and that,
    Speak clearly and directly instead

I am not looking to be accompanied,
    And certainly not by a glass,
Or even, if I was a generous friend,
    By a bottle,
And no, I am not looking for you to be a friend.

But then you ask me if I am looking at all,
    Yes, I need help in distilling this menu,
All I really want to know from you,
    What is the best way to be knocked out of my seat
And make me not care I am grounded still?

Editor's Note: These poems appeared in a previous issue.

Ben Nardolilli currently lives in New York City. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, fwriction, Inwood Indiana, Pear Noir, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is looking to publish a novel.

rbd

Special FeaturerbdOctober 21, 2016Gretchen Gales, special feature, poetry

Gretchen Gales: Rural County Sex Ed

Gretchen Gales is managing editor and a staff writer for Quail Bell Magazine. Her work has also appeared in The Establishment, projects of the SFG Media, Bustle, Yellow Chair Review, and more. When she isn't writing, she panics about how she has so much to write. Follow her work and latest updates at www.writinggales.wordpress.com.

Special FeaturerbdOctober 21, 2016Gretchen Gales, special feature, poetry

Special FeaturerbdApril 23, 2018Milo Gallagher, poetry, special feature

Milo Gallagher: A Centaur Dreams

Milo Gallagher's poems have appeared or will soon appear in The Kenyon Review, The Grief Diaries, Crab Fat Magazine, Potluck Magazine, Anomaly, and elsewhere. He is an MFA candidate at Mills College. You can follow him on twitter @miloemilyg.

Special FeaturerbdApril 23, 2018Milo Gallagher, poetry, special feature

Special FeaturerbdJune 18, 2018Laurence Li, poetry, special feature

Laurence Li: What Is Coming Now, What Beast

Laurence Li is a recent graduate from Yale and now lives in Beijing. His senior year, he completed a poetry portfolio, "The Nixon Scenes" with Louise Glück. His work has appeared in the Yale Daily News Magazine and the Yale Literary Magazine's online section.

Special FeaturerbdJune 18, 2018Laurence Li, poetry, special feature

Laurence Li: What Is Coming Now, What Beast

Special FeaturerbdSeptember 14, 2018Gabrielle Martin, poetry, special feature

Gabrielle Martin: My False Body

Gabrielle Martin lives in Philadelphia. Originally from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, much of their formative years were spent shucking corn. Their work has appeared in Flyway Journal of Writing and the Environment, The Machinery Magazine, and Moonchild Magazine. Find them on Twitter @crabbygabie

Special FeaturerbdSeptember 14, 2018Gabrielle Martin, poetry, special feature

Special FeaturerbdOctober 24, 2018Maximilian Heinegg, poetry, special feature

Maximilian Heinegg: Believe Our Ashes

Maximilian Heinegg's poems have appeared in Columbia Poetry Review, December Magazine, The Cortland Review, Crab Creek Review, and The American Journal of Poetry, among others. As a singer-songwriter, his records can be heard at www.maxheinegg.com He lives and teaches English in Medford, MA.

Special FeaturerbdOctober 24, 2018Maximilian Heinegg, poetry, special feature