Anne Tabor-Morris Recharge Brandon Downey

Recharge Brandon Downey

Scrolling through ads as if it were a delight. Hand beginning to cramp and getting tight. The finger swipes with no end in sight. Phone stop, recharge. Eyes are shut but it reaches out. Cries to be held turn into shouts. Soothed by the touch, alleviated of all doubts.

Phone rest, recharge. The headaches have set in. All thanks to some small piece of tin. Slowly eating away from within.

Phone consume, recharge. Blue screens over blue skies. An ongoing stream of lies. Beckoned to the light, a mindless flock of flies.

Phone decay, recharge.

Draining life from all that possess. Can’t live without, one must confess. A worsening problem that no one will address. Phone strengthen, recharge.

A double-edged sword taken straight to the heart. Our minds the bullseye, and it is the dart. Too far gone to reboot or restart.

Phone control, recharge. Little remains to be taken. You, the victim, now forsaken. Left waiting for its call so you may awaken.

Phone fully charged.

Introspective

Quincy Southerland, ft. Tyler Rivera

Introspective

Quincy Southerland, ft. Tyler Rivera

When you look into a mirror, are you looking at your physical being or are you looking deeper? What happens when you take away the technology, human interaction, and you are left with just yourself? Introspective takes you on a journey of self-discovery, facing what one would perceive as the worst parts of themself and arriving at the resolve of accepting the whole self.

Inspired by almost a year of social distancing and quarantining Introspective follows a character who is lonely and longing for any kind of human connection. Through the power of a touch, our character is transported outside of his bubble into unknown worlds where he is free... almost. The only condition for him to stay in this world is through staying in constant physical contact with another. What happens when they let go? That is where the real journey begins.

Mirror Mirror

Naima Towns

Once upon a time there was a girl in love with her reflection.

She longed to see it. To plant herself in front of a mirror and just coexist with the being on the other side.

The reflection she saw was her best friend, someone she could talk and laugh with.

Until one day in the school bathroom, she noticed her reflection didn't match all the other girls. This caused her to feel a way she had never felt before.

She needed to get home immediately to discuss this with the reflection.

Then, it happened. There the reflection was.

The girl began hurling hurtful words and insults to the reflection.

She knew the being on the other side would move and say whatever she wanted them to, but she couldn’t help but notice the pained expression in the reflection’s eyes.

From that day on laughs and giggles, turned to sobs and sniffles.

And the longing to see her reflection turned into a cracked, abandoned mirror.

Left to collect dust.

Untitled Photograph 1

Matthew Schroeder