[ Issue #2 ]

Every Mind is a Universe

 

Every mind is a universe,

And every body is a sea.

Every choice is a slight reverb

Of everywhere that you’ve been.

Every soul is bright starlight

And every heart drums a rhythm.

And you are as infinite as the twilight

That encompasses all you envision.

 

 

Bunnies In Space

 

See her hop and bounce and skip

Across our great Milky Way.

Her leporine moves wind and dip

To create a cosmic ballet.

And her lover’s there - a fine brown hare;

See them meet and hold a warm embrace.

Bounding across the galaxies, where

They’ll be the only bunnies in space.

 

 

Jed

 

Our personal dysphorias are dichotomous,

Yours and mine. 

Not quite like night and day.

Nor oil and water.

But something like Jupiter and Saturn -

Right next to each other, yet neither could ever be the other.

Me with my rusty layers and persistent Great Red Spot - always a little stormy.

You glow brighter, and your rocky rings belie the tender, 15,000 degree molten core within.

What I mean to say is;

Orbiting the galaxy with you - 

Witnessing the birth of planets and the death of comets together -

Makes my world astronomically better.

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Ari Aquilla-Saund (they/them) is a South Asian diasporic playwright, emcee, dancer and multidisciplinary artist based in Portland, Oregon. Recent poetry publications include collections in Pile Press, Mythos Magazine, and Drip Literary Magazine.  They are a proud company member of Theatre Diaspora, Oregon’s only AANHPI nonprofit theatre organization, and enjoy collaborating with Oregon-area artist organizations; some include Oregon Children’s Theatre, APANO/AMP, LineStorm Playwrights, Bag & Baggage Productions, Desi Fest, Body Home Fat Dance, PassinArt, and Profile Theatre.  They recently had two new pieces premier at Fertile Ground Festival of New Works 2024: Jackalope’s Call and Wild, Wild Daddy.