"Faywyn" by Milena Makani
Akhila Pingali | Tough Love
Whimsy April, the Hyderabad air between us so fine
I cut it with my tongue. That evening we conclude:
the blood of the covenant wants the occasional letting.
Walking into a DMart the other day we spotted a discount
coupon unattended. Raced to pick it up. We tossed a coin for it—
I managed to cheat and didn’t tell you afterwards. That’s the most
I can lapse. The thing I love best about TV friendships is how
easily they flick each other loose. How they stick. How they need
to know the other to bits for both. On slow days, when God
reels the clouds back in and you can see the moon move—
He catches us hanging by our cloud-crammed mouths in tense
midair. We rot away on the inside while we smile with pinkened
teeth, sweet nature His bait. You need to hear this: I have no
softness for flowers. I shall look at them with you though, without
promise of sighs. More tart and tang here, smack as in the back
rows of local cinema halls where I have been once to heckle
and hoot. Thought I was so smart, mumbling at a guy paid to act
like a loser. Burning up in his cast-off light. Friend, let
the popcorn stutter to the floor and go prostrate under our marauding
feet, as we sit here to review each other’s lives.
I cut it with my tongue. That evening we conclude:
the blood of the covenant wants the occasional letting.
Walking into a DMart the other day we spotted a discount
coupon unattended. Raced to pick it up. We tossed a coin for it—
I managed to cheat and didn’t tell you afterwards. That’s the most
I can lapse. The thing I love best about TV friendships is how
easily they flick each other loose. How they stick. How they need
to know the other to bits for both. On slow days, when God
reels the clouds back in and you can see the moon move—
He catches us hanging by our cloud-crammed mouths in tense
midair. We rot away on the inside while we smile with pinkened
teeth, sweet nature His bait. You need to hear this: I have no
softness for flowers. I shall look at them with you though, without
promise of sighs. More tart and tang here, smack as in the back
rows of local cinema halls where I have been once to heckle
and hoot. Thought I was so smart, mumbling at a guy paid to act
like a loser. Burning up in his cast-off light. Friend, let
the popcorn stutter to the floor and go prostrate under our marauding
feet, as we sit here to review each other’s lives.
Akhila Pingali is a research scholar and freelance translator based in Hyderabad, India. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Midway Journal, Passionfruit Review, trampset, SoFloPoJo, Defunkt Magazine, Tint Journal, etc.
Milena Makani, born in 1984 in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a German contemporary artist based in London, UK. Makani’s deeply psychological paintings depict inner landscapes characterized by layered textures, fluid forms and gradients. Employing acrylics, watercolours and inks on mineral stone sheets, she blends control and spontaneity through the interplay of organic process and manipulation. Makani lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - a source of constant pain. Her works channel the mindfulness, gratitude and energy of her lived experience, as she investigates themes of resilience, serenity, joy, stoicism and fragility.
The German artist has exhibited her work in the UK, Bulgaria and Iceland and her paintings are featured internationally in various private collections.
The German artist has exhibited her work in the UK, Bulgaria and Iceland and her paintings are featured internationally in various private collections.
