by Steven O. Young Jr.
I can’t remember where I heard it,
or how I learned to define the obvious,
but my notepad begins in avowal:
Philtrum | means love potion | in Greek.
I want to claim it
came carried in on your lips,
a sumptuous goblet
brimming with morning
glories
gathered from the pastel garden
planted between your edenic senses,
but I know better
than to expect
you’ll admit your hand
in apothecarial revelation,
however clear it’s written
across your face.
The simplest truth for this line
drawn taut by Cupid’s bow
nocks its intoxicating quaff
in the curl of your ambrosial smile.
Lavender Dreams
by Chelsea Tikotsky
Steven O. Young Jr. is knitted within the Great Lakes’s mitten, where he earned an MA from Oakland University and occasionally slathers soundstages with his body weight’s worth of paint. A previous contributor to Ignatian, his latest literary homes include Washington Square Review, Sweet Lit, The Word’s Faire, Meniscus, and Quibble Quarterly.
Chelsea Tikotsky is an abstract artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A graduate of SFSU, she studied abroad in Florence, Italy. Working primarily in oils and watercolors, her work captures nature’s fleeting magic and nostalgic moments. She won a Juror’s Award at the 2024 PBS KVIE Art Auction.
Ignatian Literary Magazine 