VOICEMAIL POEMS

The voice spills / Over the telephone / Time morphed into frequency / And back again / A compression of sentiment / Unraveled by longing / It says: ‘hiiiii’ A conversation about nothing is spoken / The day’s errands / The planned social respite / A desire to lay roots too soon to build / Hidden within a sense of fear of the future / What lays beneath Beneath the telephone / Lies a manipulation so...

(after Jacqui Germain) Tells me that I’ve spent enough time antagonizing him, corrupting his divine name, condemning the thinly veiled violence in his bones. He demands that I forgive his unrelenting presence, forbids me from saying all that I’ve learned about him – like Man is the aftertaste of disgusted stares. or Man comes alive when hardened fist meets pliant ribcage, his laughter exposed by t...

In the morning, I stood up, sticky and sweaty. I walked to the fridge with weight. I felt a stillness. This house has been quiet since you left. When you were gone I slept on your side of the bed and didn’t wake up once during the night. There could only be two reasons— 1) Because your side is better than mine or 2) Because I sleep better when you are gone. When you were gone I cleaned the house a...

You said my name for the last time The night before you died Exhausted and terrified You lifted the oxygen mask from your mouth And said, hi jenn That was all you could muster So much hung in the air left unsaid. Hi jenn, I’m sorry. Hi jenn, it wasn’t your fault. Hi jenn, I shouldn’t have kicked you out. Hi jenn, you are a disappointment. Hi jenn, you did everything I wanted to do. Hi jenn, I’m je...

When I came into this world they said Welcome to the holy land The world is in your palm Just as you fit into your mother's Gave me a name which slid off tongues In a way too harsh for the American voice and Too soft for the Dominican palate I grew up longing for the day where My name never sounded like an apology Uncommonly Christian When I introduced myself to my theology course last year My pro...

This time with Natives, not my old bougie choice Of American Spirits. I took up nail polish In Millennial Pink. I started mixing Sangria With Coca-Cola. I went to work and dipped in and out of lives, Looked at grandchildren peering out from wallets; I touched the shoulder of a man who drinks Elevated IPAs like he might die tomorrow. He might die tomorrow. He waits for the bus and stumbles outside....

And it’s not only the dollar aisle or because you gave birth control to a couple ex-girlfriends or how you fed me Lexapro, a pill Kanye West rapped about in a studio probably not far from a Rite Aid in Los Angeles. Not just that five bucks buys me and a millionaire the same serotonin droplets spreading under the part of the scalp soft on a baby, a chemical that tells me I’m me returning like a rab...

The pink skies and dry air The blue tongues and dark secrets soften like chalk pastels on our fingerprints Remember picking up pinecones discovering the city by bike surprised by anything we could dig and bury Nine p.m. is fading The steepest sand hill is still sinking and your hair isn’t short anymore My teeth are straight and my tires are flat and your dog has been dead for years So we move on t...

I have spent most of my life as a writer, spinning universes and microscope lenses, cosmic horrors, and hope. Intellectual treatise, statistical research, and internet rant. but despite this, and despite months of trying, I am shit at writing love poems. And you, you deserve love poems but convention and tradition offer me no council I mean, I could promise pull down the moon for you, and I’m sure...

Our hosts Logen Cure and I.S. Jones review their favs from our Summer 2017 issue! (Get caught up on Summer 2017 here: soundcloud.com/voicemailpoems/sets/voicemail-poems-summer-2017) This installment features poems by Mercedes Lucero, Daniel Barnum, and Bee Ulrich. Music by TrueKey. (@truekey). >> The deadline to submit to our Fall Issue is September 1st: http://voicemailpoems.org/call >> Help us m...

This week’s poems: >> “The Scenic Rout” by Nicole Jean Turner >> “thank you for supporting your local counseling and psychological services” by Chelsea Sieg >> “In Which Rachel Changes the Oil” by Em Taylor >> “Afterwards” by EJ Schoenborn >> “We Named the Dog Indiana” by Skyler Reed Hosted by Logen Cure! Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please contribute to our project: >> http://patreon.com/...

This week’s poems: >> “the burning of knight von hohenberg with his servant before the walls of Zürich, for sodomy, 1482″ by Bee Ulrich >> “In a Dark Room, the Universe Was Calling Me” by Melissa Cerrillo >> “For My Grandmother, Who Kept His Last Name" by Chrissy Martin >> “Part Waters (Two of Cups)" by Daniel Barnum >> “Tankman" by Kyle Liang Hosted by Logen Cure! Thank you to our Patreon support...

This week’s poems: >> “New Orleans Poem” by Zoë Blair-Schlagenhauf >> "Frozen" by Elliott Ocean >> “Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful” by Mercedes Lucero >> “The summer of mourning” by TaneshaNicole >> “post talk” by alexis briscuso Hosted by Logen Cure! Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please contribute to our project: >> http://patreon.com/voicemailpoems Subscribe via iTunes: >> https://itunes.appl...

This week’s poems: >> “I Am Nothing I Thought I'd Ever Be By Now" by Paulie Lipman >> “Demeter Speaks to Persephone After her Rape" by Melissa Rose >> “Untitled” by Indiana Pehlivanova >> “I Was Forcibly Removed from the Holy Land” by Alex McDonald >> “Lakes Hills Estates” by Ryan Nakano Hosted by Logen Cure! Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please contribute to our project: >> http://patreon....

Our hosts Logen Cure and Alexis Smithers review their favs from our Spring 2017 issue! (Get caught up on Spring 2017 here: https://soundcloud.com/voicemailpoems/sets/voicemail-poems-spring-2017) This installment features poems by Catherine Weiss, Jessie Lynn McMains, and Kit Travers. Music by TrueKey. (@truekey). >> The deadline to submit to our Summer Issue is June 15: http://voicemailpoems.org/c...

This week’s poems: “GAY INCANTATIONS” by Billy-Ray Belcourt “Exit Speech For Michelle: Last Supper At The White House” by Kelly Williams “model 3.5” by Catherine Weiss “In Which I am the Ouroboros” by Dorothy McGinnis “Peine Forte et Dure” (For the Women Who Love Giles Corey) by Caitlyn Gilvary Davidheiser Hosted by Logen Cure! Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please contribute to our project:...

This week’s poems: "Syracuse, Lullaby, V. 1" by Alexa Doran "Dancefloor/Sanctuary/Office/Bedroom" by Kay Kassirer "Exeunt" by Jessie Lynn McMains "honey is a verb" by Isobel O'Hare "Untitled" by Meron Afutu Hosted by Logen Cure! Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please contribute to our project: patreon.com/voicemailpoems Subscribe via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/voicemailpoems/...

Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please contribute to our project: patreon.com/voicemailpoems This week’s poems: "POSSESSED BY CAITLYN JENNER’S GHOST / I NEED TO LEARN TO TAKE A JOKE" by Jo Gehringer "WHY IS EVERYONE PARTYING?" by Luis Neer "sun models" by Jude Moore "Jesus is as good a replacement for crack as any, I guess" by Kit Travers "Sally In Paris (for Sally Hemings, 1773 – 1835)" by E...

This week's poems: "My therapist thinks my name is Alex" by Alec Balasko" "Origin" by Jacqueline T. Nkhonjera "autogynephilia is the lie they made up to trick trans girls ..." by Penelope Jeanne Brannen "the thing about bears" by Troy Kody Cunio "february 17th / shoutout to gravity" by Annabelle Goll Hosted by Logen Cure! >> Thank you to our Patreon supporters! Please contribute to our project: ht...

Voicemail Poems contributor Allyson Whipple joins host Logen Cure for the Winter 2017 episode of our podcast! This installment features poems by Jasmine Dillavou and Chris Rife, as well as an interview with Allyson. Music by TrueKey. (@truekey). >> The deadline to submit to our Spring Issue is March 15: voicemailpoems.org/call >> Support us on Patreon! patreon.com/voicemailpoems >> Review us on iT...

Voicemail Poems editors Logen Cure and Amy Saul-Zerby return for another episode of our podcast! Featuring poems by nico wilkinson, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, and Emily Page Wilson. Music by TrueKey (https://soundcloud.com/truekey). >> The deadline to submit to our Winter Issue is December 15: http://voicemailpoems.org/call >> Support us on Patreon! http://patreon.com/voicemailpoems >> Review us on iTu...

The Voicemail Poems podcast RETURNS! Hosted by editorial staffer Logen Cure, featuring poems by Alabama Stone, Emily Yin, and Ron Riekki. Music by TrueKey (https://soundcloud.com/truekey). Submit to Voicemail Poems Fall 2016. Deadline September 15th. More info at http://voicemailpoems.org