"Garden of Eden" by Shell Myers

Together


with songs, everyone
picked and picked: Ada
said, i wish maths is
as sweet as mangoes; we
laughed and told her
to become a farmer
or ask her teacher
to use fruits for algebra. It was
a sweet evening, as
every kid in the 'hood
had gathered in our lawn
when the clouds started
their tongues--ours
was to sing and
jump and wait
for mangoes
and rain to drop

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David Ishaya Osu writes poetry and nonfiction. He is a board member of the Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation based in Uganda. His poetry appears in Chiron Review, CutBank, Vinyl, Transition, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, The Nottingham Review. David is a fellow of Ebedi International Writers Residency, and is currently the poetry editor at Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel.

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Shell Myers was born in Elyria, Ohio, but now calls Philadelphia their home. They are a queer multimedia artist, voted most artistic in the 8th grade. They are passionate about emotional sensitivity, play, and subverting toxic masculinity. Shell is the Administrative Coordinator of Art & Art History at Drexel University. When they're not putting in that 9 to 5, they make time to create collages, paintings, photographs and drawings. You can find more of their work at www.shellmyers.com