Storytelling

by Steven O. Young Jr.

I thought up a story for you.
Honest!

And it’s not that
I can’t remember
what it is, though
I’m racking my brain,
rummaging around
these russet roots
as if it somehow seeped
through my scalp,

putting on a good show.

It’s simple
      and straightforward.
Too simple
      and straightforward.

It’s about a boy
who’d written
an adolescent love poem,
fidgeting in front of his muse.
He tried to recite it
from memory, only
to forget the lines
and think up something
more beautiful
on the spot.

So I can’t help
but to keep up
this blundering,
this stuttering and straining
over words
I sadly haven’t lost,
while trying to improvise
something somehow worthier
as you look on,

bemused.

Over The Sushi Moon

by Greta McGee

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Steven O. Young Jr. is practically a recluse submerged within the Great Lakes’ mitten. Before turning hermit, he earned an MA from Oakland University and may be spotted slathering soundstages with paint. His latest works can or will be found within Clepsydra, Reunion: The Dallas Review, and Great Lakes Review.

Greta McGee (she/her) is a Black, lesbian American-Italian born and raised in New York City. She received her Bachelor’s in 2021 from Sarah Lawrence College. Her multi-disciplinary creative works report on the body, spirit, and mind as they work together. Greta’s artwork has been featured in MixedMag, 805 Lit+Art, and CU46 Project. In addition, her work has been exhibited in both virtual and in-person shows through The Holy Art gallery in London and the Van Der Plas Gallery in New York City. Most recently, Greta was the recipient of a Silver Award in a gallery sponsored art competition.