“Voicemail,” Poem by Braxton Young “The Short Blacktop Path,” Fiction by Noah Douglas……………………6 “Seven-Eyed Raven,” Poem by Hailey Barnes……………………………8

Voicemail

Poem by Braxton Young

I wonder if the moon and sun be having conversations What I would do to hear the gossip of the constellation Fly Around the stars and mars for my infatuation I heard space really feels like the ocean Addicted to your love never needed a potion you and I could take off right now. The feelings I have is too much for me to write down

You get me high as a plane I wonder if the feelings you have are the same But all I can do is wonder

We don’t speak as often as I want Or as often as I need

You’re a breath of fresh air But I’m as green as a tree Another hopeless voicemail When I wish you were here with me

The Short Blacktop Path

Fiction by Noah Douglas

The short blacktop path. I have walked it a great many times. It is not a lengthy path, nor does it possess any monumental scenery, and it has never once proven itself noteworthy of any bypasser. However, I have learned to appreciate the mildly fresh air that blows in from miles of growing fields. Life seems to thrive, if only for a moment, in this small sanctuary. It has long served as a temporary reprieve from the foul stench of drugs, decadence, and decay that plagues the world around me. Each step I took brought me a foot closer in my mental journey. I have long since failed to think clearly while boxed up in my dark room like a withered husk waiting to accept a fate devised from the scheming minds of others. It may seem that I am not permitted freedom of choice in terms of how I live my life, in how my voice is heard, and what I may believe. If I may not choose my path, like a great many others as the world falls into ruination, then the only freedom that exists is within my mind’s eye. This power is one which no box may contain, no class may tame, and no foul spirit can conquer.

Another step. The dimensional veil was pulled back before me, and above I witnessed a great host about me. Below my feet, formed the fires of perdition and a multitude of forces from the depths of the earth. I found myself within the midst of these two great tides. My heart became a conduit by which I could choose to channel either one of these.

As my path crumbled away, I found myself thrown about in a struggle between light and dark. I summoned all my strength in some effort to shield myself from the pressure which so easily moved me. Yet the strength of men is nothing compared to the storms which are the forces beyond our grasp. Likewise, the fortitude of the heart alone is little more than a meek facade in the face of such powers.

My body felt as though it were stretched like a band of rubber, further and further, thinner and thinner, nearly about to snap. I soon came to realize, surely this is no path which I can walk alone. I had to choose a side. While my mind may have been freed of the worldly machine, and I received the power to make choices within my heart, I also became aware of the forces beyond the veil, and found myself forced to choose where my next steps lie.

Whatever choice I made, it would have to be quick. Such beauty, grace, and majesty revealed itself to me from above, but with that came a sense of sacrifice and selflessness which inspired a sensation of fear within me. From below, I felt power which would see my ambitions met and my desires satisfied. Yet, upon looking deeper I found that there was also a loneliness of the spirit, a suffering brought on by decadence, and a great emptiness for those who were near to this abyss.

For but a moment, I reached my hand downward in an effort to take hold of the depths. However, my hand quickly recoiled as I saw within the deep, the same world from which I sought earlier to escape. So I grasped the light, and pulled away from the darkness which released me like broken shackles and retreated into the earth.

Suddenly, I found myself back on that short blacktop path, and I gladly walked with company towards my final destination. As I walked, I passed another whom, like myself, walked the short blacktop path. For a mere second, I saw a glimpse of the same forces which beckoned me to both the heavens above and the earth below. In their eyes, there was the same uncertainty and turmoil that plagued me. I offered them a simple smile which revealed the light in my eyes, and they were quickly aware of the choice that I made, and where I ended up.

Seven-Eyed Raven

Poem by Hailey Barnes

The world was barren and brown And there were many bodies on the ground A single dead tree There I fell to my knees The big black raven I have seen Looked like that from an Edgar Poe scene And it was quite obscene When it started talking to me I had to confess And let everything come off my chest It then grew seven eyes And told me to look to the sky "Do not cry and weep For the wound is not that deep Bloodied skies is what they will reap They will be taken down below And thrown about, to and fro" I asked, "Will I find what I seek?" The seven-eyed raven said, "It is very bleak. When you come home, You will be alone" "Why?!" I asked desperately The seven-eyed raven said frantically "Because it is so!" It then swooped down And took my silver crown And left me to waste

So I would come face to face With my own demise With no goodbyes