"Lullaby" by Larissa Monique Hauck

Ode to the & by Kimberly Ramos

an ode for mixed kids

even the name
sounds musical, three-syllable
composition
conducted by the devil-points
of my half-tongue—

i am fur & feather &
salt & sugar & blood & bloodletter,
orange & flower & gold & digger
& space & smother, holding
thrice as much

per hand these days, my arms
blissful in their burden,
ghost & devil &
glass & shadow & bone & sorrow,
song & chant & boulder &

sand, let me loose to the fields
crying &, &, &,
arms pinwheeling, skirt fluttering
over my unshaven legs—
this body a multitude, as are you

& you
& you
& you

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Kimberly Ramos is a queer Filipina writer from the Midwest. Their work has been published in Southern Humanities Review, Jet Fuel Review, and West Trade Review, among others. Their first chapbook is set for publication with Unsolicited Press in 2023. You can read more of their work at kimramoswrites.carrd.co

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Larissa Monique Hauck is a queer visual artist who graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2014, where she received a BFA with Distinction. Her artwork has been featured in multiple regional and national group exhibitions as well as a growing number of international exhibitions. She has been selected for inclusion in events such as Nextfest 2018 (Edmonton, AB), Nuit Rose 2016 (Toronto, ON), and the 9th Annual New York City Poetry Festival 2019 (New York, US). Her drawings and paintings have also been featured in publications such as Creative Quarterly (US), Wotisart Magazine (UK), Minerva Rising (US), and various others.