Death. by Ama Francis

Some think that death

Is this fierce cruel thing

With weapons on its back

And blood on its hands

Some say that death grins

With a sack full of souls

That its hiding in the shadows of the world

Waiting for who will fall next.

But they’re wrong.

Death is a soft gentle thing

Full of soft reassurances and kind words

Death lets you hear the laughter in the next room

As it lays you to bed

And the blood on its knuckles aren’t from violence

Or a sick sadism

The blood is from wiping away cuts

And staunching bleeds

And death knows that you can’t fit a soul in a sack

Souls belong in the earth

Encased in winding vines

And wrapped in cotton.

And death is the first to put a flower on your grave

To sweep your hair back and tuck you in for the last time.

As you wait for the angel to come and ask you

Its damning questions.

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Ama Francis

Ama Francis is a student and emerging writer with a deep interest in culture, history, and the human experience. Her work often draws on themes of memory, identity, and resilience. She is passionate about using words to preserve stories and spark reflection.

With Love, Entropy by Jina Dcruz

Are we dreaming?

The code of life validates,

we are alive!

We abandoned Earth

like a sinking ship,

its gravity too heavy

for what we wanted to become.

 

We told ourselves

the stars were the answer—

somewhere out there,

a new universe

a clean slate,

a second chance.

But the stars don’t care.

They burn,

indifferent witnesses

to our unraveling.

 

We told ourselves

we’d become limitless,

trading bodies for code,

lives for lines of logic.

But no one warned us

that infinity loops.

 

In the end,

there’s no decision,

only entropy.

The bodies drift closer,

their hum turning to static,

and we sit in the dark,

listening,

as the universe pulls us apart.

Are we dreaming?

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Jina Dcruz

Jina Dcruz is a public health scientist by day and a speculative poet by heart. Her work explores the liminal edges of technology, myth, memory, and decay. She is the author of Lightning in a Bottle and has been featured in anthologies across both the U.S. and India. Jina was born in Kerala and now calls Atlanta home. She writes at the intersection of silence, data, and stardust.

The You in Me by Pauline Yates

How long must I suffer the you in me?

So eager I was to learn your name,

Your lust for power possesses me.

A glass, a board, a candle’s red flame.

 

So eager I was to learn your name,

Enticed by kinship in your realm.

A glass, a board, a candle’s red flame.

I did not expect you’d take the helm.

 

Enticed by kinship in your realm.

Letter by letter you claimed my soul,  

I did not expect you’d take the helm.

A demon replaced the life you stole.

 

Letter by letter you claimed my soul,

Your lust for power possesses me.

A demon replaced the life you stole.

How long must I suffer the you in me?

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Pauline Yates

Pauline Yates is an award-winning horror, science fiction and poetry writer. Her publications include Memories Don’t Lie, Shattered, Dream Job, and The Connections We Keep. She has numerous short stories and poetry published in Australian and international anthologies. Find her on socials @midnightmuser1.