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This Terrifying Woman by riparii, literature

Literature

This Terrifying Woman

snatches fish from the bottom of the sea: down the hatch without a sound, son of cod, kill the clown, peanut butter and jelly fish, she swallows them tip to tail. She spouts like a whale, she hisses and steams, sputters like water on a hot wood stove, mutters and swears at the gods and men who never say quite what they mean. Rats rummage through her belly, I'm a closet, she thinks, an old bag; she slaps at their scrabble and chew. They don't scare easy; she knows they're getting closer to the edges of her soul. You never know what's next. What's next are night-stretched shadows on a crimson lawn. With bones like blubber, so tired of the

(17/30) rednecks watch the apocalypse part ii. by incalyscent, literature

Literature

(17/30) rednecks watch the apocalypse part ii.

i. my darlin’ pulls up a bucket of blood from the well, and he says shucks, ain’t this just how it is. the red sloshes up over the curled lip of the pail, sprinkles his shoes. i say it’s a long time comin’, ain’t it and he doesn’t even look at me when he says yeah, it sure is. ii. late at night, i am wide awake, and my darlin’ is too, even if he’s pretending to sleep. the night is bright and blue, and the hayloft isn’t warm, but it’s soft, and in the pale glow of april, the bright song of frogs drowns out that he is just barely crying. iii. the next day we have to cut the b

The Futurist Manifesto by Carmalain7, literature

Literature

The Futurist Manifesto

No One Believes in Love The concrete carcass glitters brilliant under the lens; heaving, we become an ocean of faceless cigarette butts and pennies on tails. Dead lines drape the posts where we crucified small talk and saviors. All voices should be heard above the clamor of all these voices that should be heard. Olive branches clip our wings, flee to mountaintops; a relieved exhalation: drugs, hope cancer, lingering like a kiss on my lips. You paint me every shade of gray, seal my eyes with your tongue, pry open my teeth, a tell-tale heart and a crowbar thumb; You told me the we

atrium xavier by gliitchlord, literature

Literature

atrium xavier

i. color in the spaces between my freckles; it's a challenge in sunlight. i can't help you, can't help but feel ticklish. crush into me like taffeta and my gaze won't distort now or ever. connect a few stray dots, you're not drawing but spelling all the sweetest rumors. if i trace the sky around you, will it steady, or, like pluto am i lost? v. codependent, lately. bring my knees in closer yet. it's always cold, i thought my embers would be kept. shiver, breath in slower motions; i was rays of sun for ages, where did i misstep? striations etched into my brow, they feel immense when i go out. x. coda: underneath the network breaching, i will

Things I Need to Ask by callerofcrows, literature

Literature

Things I Need to Ask

I have some questions above my pay-grade. I understand we haven't talked much lately but you promised me an open door policy and I want to take you up on it. All he wanted was to play baseball. That's it. His mom goes to church and serves lunches to children, his father's on base, no longer deployed. And he's a child, you know. I figured that should check off all the boxes. I know we're made to question, not necessarily ask why. But all he wanted was to play baseball. You assigned him a word that he can't spell, except phonetically, maybe something like loo-key-me-uh. And with each syllable he gets worse. I am used to seeing d

ptsd by Tiger--eyes, literature

Literature

ptsd

I have I have I have and I am small and I am four letters vomiting my heart into the sewer grates wishing I could carve it out and fill up the hole with the burning ice I down until the sobs no longer threaten to line my face and melt my eyes right off and I am walking halls of mirrored glass curved into lies and bending my reflection into snakes while asking for a fare when I just want the sky above and open air and the confidence of knowing that when I wake in twisted sheets from begging him to unstab the barbs lodged in my skin I can still scream

First Letter, Last Letter by Nullibicity, literature

Literature

First Letter, Last Letter

Living with GAD is like going about your life in a game of Pachinko: you just greet the day and never land where you’re supposed to (what you’d planned for), but you know the bottom row is at least the bottom, and you know how many places there are to land (and maybe you’ve spent a little too long on detour strategies for each possible deviation). You know with today as an opponent, your turn won’t last longer than 30 seconds - maybe a minute if you’re really trying to will a path with telekinesis - and when your turn comes back, you can just try again. It’ll never land where you want, but in oversho

florida / after the fact by successwithhonor, literature

Literature

florida / after the fact

palm frond / sadsong / spat seeds of sun / see : pack of rabid boys play chicken with their pride / silverspoon / blondebang / smugmouth / smile back in portrait / refrigerator shrine / dinnertime / kitchen blade makes way to the neck / speaks in vague & subtle recognition / leaves with the taste of bitter metal look up look up / is the sky not enough : bloodorange the threat of moisture / i95 static / die in traffic / radio silence gentle rain / griefpuddle write a lot about pain without so much as breaking bone

Comments 745

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xlntwtch

Edited Mar 1, 2022

HELLOOO! ANYONE HOME?
I must say it's been pretty discouraging to submit work here only to see it expire, no vote or anything, just expire. Like, die. If anyone is here, please open the group again, find people to vote on submissions, and let's get literature groups back on the highway again, please! Poetrymann - I see you're here too - are your groups going to live or fold? Note me? Thank you! Wake up, please!

thebalefulprimal

Jun 9, 2022

I have crawled out of the primordial muck to peek in, hello hello.

xlntwtch

Jun 9, 2022

! Could it be Serendiipitii? Hellooo! You may be somewhat in the ooze here - I don't come around often, but love seeing your name! Am not sure anyone comes here much, but hope to see you again somewhere. Will check your page...

Moonbeams

Mar 23, 2022

I'm here, and I've been voting when I can, but it really does seem to have dropped off (along with so many other groups). I'd been thinking of getting the word out there to get it up and running again. I keep voting on and coming across some really great pieces that end up expiring eventually after submitting, so it'd be lovely to see it come back to life. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that so many lit people have moved on from the site. Prose pieces are especially suffering in this group.

xlntwtch

Edited Mar 23, 2022

You're the only one there, voting? You need two or more votes and can't get them before submissions expire? Oh, this is sad! Some lit groups became "zombies" that are accepting anything (no one is voting) and others ignore even my aggression and everything expires. I've been half of only 2 admins left in charge of a group before, and 2 votes were needed, so the other admin and I had to always be there and also always agree. We finally talked 3 others into being admins and we both left, each of us saying 'never again' - the 3 who took our place quickly sloughed off and everything expires there now, too. I blamed the group founder back then; he'd disappeared. Oddly, he's back, but ignoring 2 groups he's founder or co-founder of. I've addressed him directly with no reply... Can you appeal to a founder or co there? I don't know what to do. Word-Smiths is, to me, one of the bigger, more important lit groups. I hate to see it flounder. To me, a founder (like Poetrymann) should be the 'last man standing,' still voting til it's decided to stop... wrings hands and sighs... tWR is up - what and how?... What next at W-S?

Moonbeams

Mar 23, 2022

I can try to inquire and see what happens from there. Most of the admins there (with the exception of maybe one or two) have been inactive on the site as a whole. I don't think it'll die unless the site decides to get rid of inactive groups (which some are sadly calling for). I've seen groups die and resurrect from their ashes before, though. So, here's hoping for the best.

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BootShopStory

Nov 20, 2019

Thanks for the request