M as in making out in the magazine

  Seriens näst sista studenttidskrift blir Matchbox magazine. Den har sitt säte vid University of California.
  Nästa vecka avslutas rubriken med Stand magazine, från University of Leeds.

  Matchbox magazine har funnits sedan 2005 och hör hemma i University of California, Santa Cruz. Deras deklaration lyder:
"Our Mission: To serve as a platform for underrepresented voices for the artists that make up the undergraduate body within the entire UC system. We aim to publish quality art, prose, poetry, music, and spoken word that reflects the diversity of students and art alike. As the only UC-wide literary magazine, we aspire to serve as a unifying factor between the nine UC campuses and offer wide exposure for student artists."

  Dessvärre håller inte bidragen i Matchbox magazine särskilt hög kvalitet. Jag har misstagit mig i min förberedande research. Det här är verkligen en ren studenttidskrift, och ingenting annat.

  Jag har valt ut två dikter i kärlekens tecken.

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Owens Peak, Wilderness wildflowers, 2017

August poetry, by Sasha Landau
(From Matchbox magazine, Issue 2016.)

Find me lying in bed at seven in the evening. The sun will be painted like lip liner on the crest of the mountains. Tell me this is because summer is for lovers, so nature makes it ripe for kissing. Then kiss me, if you want to. I'll roll over and you can crawl on in, the water is fine.

While the ocean is busy playing peekaboo with the moon you can tell me you'll never swim in the Atlantic. I won't question it. Well I will, but I'll get over it. Tell me that you hate all those imaginary lines anyway; nobody can control the ocean. I'll agree, but I'll agree with anything that gets my hand in your hair fast enough.

The spider web dream of your mouth on mine is lukewarm and not very likely, but I'll spend hours spinning it. When we're both done pretending not to notice we're holding hands, maybe we can figure it out. If you offer me a seat closer to the fire, wait for me to answer. I'm not upset, I'm just thinking of more ways to convince you I'm cold.

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Big rain, by Molly Jones
(From Matchbox magazine, Issue 2016.)

one sound -
big drops
splashing against the basement
one by one
heavy berries
falling to the bottom of my heart burying there a sweetness