By Taty Hernandez, Translated by Willy Ramirez Hay luces en Bagdad, desde el blanco más pálido hasta el rojo más intenso.  Semejan una medianoche de nochevieja. Hay luces en Bagdad disparadas  desde el corazón más negro.  Gritan las milenarias piedras. Hay luces en Bagdad desbocadas  desde un corazón de hielo.  Y corren ríos rojos bañando …

by Katie Durant Because the divorce hearing was held a year and a day after we were married, my husband came to court with an anniversary card. I wore a skirt suit, and he wore his usual tee-shirt and cut-off flannel ensemble. He smiled sweetly and said, “Happy anniversary,” as he handed the card to …

Written by Taty Hernández and translated by Willy Ramirez La boca negra de la guerra no puede articular los nombres de los caídos en las casas, las calles,  espacios convertidos en trincheras porque allí  se adormece la esperanza de aquellos que no tuvieron una opción por la vida. Las noches de la guerra no tienen límites,  …

by Richael Aniekwenagbu A woman’s body is like a prey to the eyes of men  And a man’s male gaze is like a predation through the eyes of a woman So, be cautious with how her dress expresses herself  Because the “wrong” dress will attract a lascivious crowd But clothed with just a simple sweatpants …

by Richael Aniekwenagbu It’s always been your fault right from the jump. Signing up for this permanent full-time job.  Crowned yourself a mother who claimed to do her very best. But I ain’t seen you lift a finger ever since.  You swore in the Lord’s name as if you taught me everything. But Life stepped …

By Fred Edson Lafortune, Translated by Jean Dany Joachim and Jonathan Bennett Bonilla tout batan pòt fèmen sou douvanjou depi lè w pati yon gwo pwela pandje sou fenèt mwen isit pa gen solèy pa gen bonjou isit pa gen lanmou pa gen je dou chak fwa lannuit pwente mwen panse avè w tout bagay …

by Raymond Anganes Neon lights stretched out for all eternity, and the great hollow conduit ran in a ring around the cosmic city. Marina reached out with her hydraulic appendages and dragged herself further and further into the unending cylindrical corridor. Each pulsing, wall-mounted cable full of glowing liquid bathed her home in a different …

by Vivian Wakefield Alone here, below the overhang, incessant droppings from icicles barely miss me, falling against my black slip-ons instead. I like to take my cig breaks out here, even when it’s this bitter out. As I exhale, the mix of smoke and cold air makes my breaths appear comical. Head buzzing, I lean …

by Nora McClellan One time, my sister and I watched an Ancient Aliens episode about the world ending on December 21, 2012 because of the Mayan calendar and, you guessed it, aliens. Given my young age and tendency to take things literally, I took these conspiracy theorists’ words as Gospel. I grew terrified, worrying about …

By Nora McClellan My name is Otis C. Dickinson And I am the master of puppets I’ve got a special show  That I planned just for you No one else can see what I can do So step right up on my stage The star of the show must not be late And who shall …

By Nora McClellan I am the rain that falls from the sky No drop of water is exactly the same There’s one for every one Of my worries, fears, insecurities My obsessions and compulsions Each nightmare inside my mind Is its own raindrop And when they fall together They form a storm And that’s who …

By Zach Rahed A child walking in the sunlit park with mom and dad spots a dog sniffing a wooden bench down the cemented path. Eventually, the dog sniffing the bench senses the child, turns his head, and sees the child gazing in awe at mischievous, ole factory detective work.  Why?  Why is the child’s …

The Race People at the gym What might they be running towards? Only treadmills know. Life We are all unknown Variables in problems With no solution

Kate McCadden That kind of love that sweeps up on the cool breeze of an early spring night Where the sky is clear and the horizon clings to last light. It steals breath from your lungs and then sneaks in, Sparkling lightning rides up from your toes- or did it start in your chest? That …

Gardening supplies were made with a micron ink pen and colored with a set of copic markers while on my aisle outside. I wanted to see how real I could make the gardening supplies in front of me look. The work took around an hour and a half to complete.  The view of a desk …

Cayleigh Baillargeon Chief Chocorua’s curse killed colonizer’s cattle for decades after he conjured the Great Spirit but it is the surname of Sam Willey that we colloquially call to to explain a deep, primal knowledge that something is amiss. Willey wrote about the chief and the cattle then still chose to make his home at …

Deklan O’Connor What kind of movies you watch What other art you have in your home What other names you thought of Before picking the one that you did Where you go for walks What you think of while brushing your teeth Or making your breakfast Or looking back at me, without words What your …

Deklan O’Connor Is a maze, And its players merely mice. Soft and skittish mice, Nose every corner, every crack. Smack their nose they run away. Open hands and they walk around. Any plants in your poem? Mice like to hide Any cheese in your poem? Mice like to eat A fork in your road? A …

By Cayleigh Baillargeon Last time I was in Vegas  was a month after the route 91 shooting.  There were more cops than people more crosses than tourists more guns than buffets. Meandering past the Mandalay,  I caught glimpses of the Statue of Liberty. I happened to be in New York the day Jam Master Jay …

Cayleigh Baillargeon Sex isn’t the only way Two become one. Have you considered Eating my rib?

By J. M Grenier The neighbors have gotten really strange since the Pandemic started. Not that they weren’t already, but lockdown seems to have everyone on edge. Take Rodney, for example. Retired firefighter. Sits on the common-area patio drinking most of the time, in all kinds of weather. He’ll throw you a friendly hello every …

The Comics I submitted for Dead River Review came from a comic I’ve been working on called, “Comic Journal”. The Comic shows my daily life and I intended to make it into a zine some day. A zine is a small comic typically printed by the artist to sell in small quantities. I made the …

By Jessie Paleologos

By Rebecca Waukau …and I’m drowning, sometimes so slowly I don’t even notice,             Other times with such ferocity, it’s as though the whole world is going down with me.             I’m choking on promises to myself that I’ll never fulfill,             Trying to swallow the emptiness, a minnow trying to swallow a whale.             …

by Rebecca Waukau             The notebook was tattered, the binding bent and cracked like a well-traveled road. There was no name on the front, just a marbling of black, white, and what looked like old stains of blood.             I knew I should have run after the woman who just got off the bus. The …