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    • Staff 2021 -22
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  • Issues
    • A Fire of Words
    • Editor's Note 2022 >
      • The Floor Wallows Lower
      • Cornflowers
      • Erudite
      • That One Morning
      • mom, im afraid
      • selenophilia
      • Roses and Rainbows
      • If a poisonous snake bites itself, will it die?
      • Rochester
      • Crown of Branches
      • Stairs to the Sea
      • A Poem Written Entirely From Advertisements
      • Pyromania
      • silhouette of a bird against winter stars
      • thunderstorm in the bedroom
      • A Night in Recovery
      • sleeping gypsie
      • paper dolls&goodbyes
      • We Are Women
      • Village Air
      • Sunshine's Laughter
      • the male gaze
      • The Forensic Entomologist
      • Lacking
      • Drowning
      • Adelie
    • Create the Wonders We Dream (2021)
    • Editor's Note >
      • Zove
      • I'm Sorry
      • Fake Smile
      • My Friend the Balloon
      • Eyes Intertwined
      • Perfect
      • Only a Moment
      • A Dangerous Word
      • My Dreams
      • The Last 100 Meters
      • The Green Void (Villanelle)
      • The Whimsical Galaxy (Sestina)
      • The Silent Kindness
      • Pressure
      • Table on the Hill
      • The Yukon
      • The Shore
      • Repentance
      • Her and I
      • Infections of the Soul
      • Threads
      • Dream of a High Schooler
      • Empty
      • little flame
      • scars
      • black and white
      • The Cat
      • Joy
      • Sweet Honey Bee Stings
      • If There Were One Day
      • Delete
      • Our Hearts to Central Vietnam
      • him or Him?
      • Ocean
      • Es Llaner Beach
      • Sewn Together
      • Rain
      • Yes, I Like
      • The Legacy of the Moon
      • The Wind Whimpers
      • From Here I See
      • To Feel Clean
      • Red
      • Survival
      • Substance
      • Golden Lies
      • Midnight Tango
      • Ode to a Spleen
      • Modern Siren
      • The Night's Diamond Tears
      • Beats In Double Time
      • A Day in the Flight
      • Carved By Venus
      • Lifeline
      • Everest
      • Education
      • How Much of Reality Can Be Observed
      • What is a Spork
      • What is the difference between love and in love
      • What would you have wanted? me to say
      • Planet Caravan
      • The Journey of a Minute
      • The Circus of Scars
      • Mosaic
      • Color
      • Love and Acceptance
    • Colors I Never Knew Existed (2020)
    • Her Voice Remains (2017)
    • Watch Every Second (2018)
    • Words Become Reality (2019)
  • Blog
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black and white
By: Chanel Cao

Picture
I paint this world in black and white
In many shades of grey
I wish I didn’t live in it
But here I am today

I paint the sky in dark and blue
Heavy with tears and truths
The birds rise high
In their feathered flock
You hear their sighs and cries
They needn’t feel the pain
Of what we’ve done in our reign

I paint the vile green in our eyes
Of money, power, hunger, and demise
To climb so high and fall so low
Everything we’ve seen is all for show

I paint the explosive red we breathe
Of hatred, anger, and unfortunate deeds
Revenge is a cycle of endless seek
Deny forgiveness shows us weak

I paint the blinding light we build
Standards to the sky
We’ve been pushed to walk that path
Reach for it till you die

What is it you want from life?
What is it that you seek?
It’s filled with dissonance and strife
Certainly not for the meek

Take a shot and tell me
What is it that you see?

​Writer's Statement: My inspiration for my poetry is often a combination of my own experiences and experiences I imagine have happened to other people that I could easily see myself in. Often, my poems are rather serendipitous and finished within a small time frame, and I find that I use a lot of rhyme to express myself. There is a certain intriguing aesthetic feeling I aim for in my poems, and I hope that is enjoyed by you. Thank you.
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