McKenna Marsden

Hannah has read it’s a myth that sharks will die if they stop moving forward but chooses to believe in it anyway. If it was allowed, Hannah’s driver’s license would say: Clark, Hannah—Height: 5′5″, Hair: Blond, Eyes: Blue—A Shark.

Mehrnoosh Torbatnejad

For purplish blue-gray, we compress the three words / into a single kabood—for the sake of time, I imagine, / though what we boast in linguistic convenience / we lose to limited use, as in, we would never say the lavender / fields in the pale distance are kabood…

Dean Rader

This evening, the unknown waves /  its wand, and a beam of light disappears / into the sky’s black hat. / The moon has never known its true home. /

Sean Hill

For all of their waving charm and aesthetic appeal, flags are really just a kind of shorthand—broad symbols used to communicate quickly and perhaps at a distance, like on a battlefield. Turns out that is their origin. Simple visual proclamations to friends and foe to say “here we are” and “we be we and not ye.”