Size / / /

My crumbling walls are etched with voice:
hieroglyphs depicting song, wisdom, cruelty,
fusing cries and screams not hers.

Bodily fluids stained my floors as paint,
dark joys sealed, lacquering her soul.
Six hundred fell by her hand, she who loved me.

My grounds hide now, as they then, aging bones.
I became my lady's prison after trial,
restraining her desires, ensuring desolation.

Praying for revenge and light, she sang
and rambled as though they interchanged,
twisted dark with salvation water.

When the sun casts egress shadows on my face
she remains, silhouette searching, insatiable,
gazing at the village below.

No women from nearby come as tourists,
though some may be curious to glimpse her
just in case rumor is fact.




Jennifer Ruth Jackson can't draw or act, so she writes poems and short stories. Her work has been published in Star*LineFlashes in the Dark, and Kaleidoscope Magazine.  When she's not writing, you can catch her playing video games or making jewelry. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their houseplant, Hubey. Find her on the web at http://www.everythingitntales.blogspot.com.
Current Issue
3 Feb 2025

By: Mu Cao
Translated by: Hongwei Bao
too many things left unsaid/ words fold into themselves 
在沒有時間的Hotel California,Isa成為我的時間。
By: Hsin-Hui Lin
Translated by: Ye Odelia Lu
In the timeless space that is Hotel California, Isa becomes my time.
不思議な道でした。どこまで行っても闇夜。
By: Mayumi Inaba
Translated by: Yui Kajita
It was a strange road. Endless dark night no matter how far I walked.
Issue 27 Jan 2025
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Issue 20 Jan 2025
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By: Michelle Kulwicki
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
Issue 13 Jan 2025
Issue 6 Jan 2025
By: Samantha Murray
Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
Issue 23 Dec 2024
Issue 16 Dec 2024
Issue 9 Dec 2024
Issue 2 Dec 2024
By: E.M. Linden
Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
Issue 25 Nov 2024
Issue 18 Nov 2024
By: Susannah Rand
Podcast read by: Claire McNerney
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