Madeline Almaroad - Illinois State University

Hell, it didn’t even make sense to me. Studying and living in France confirmed it for me. There was something dark and shadowy that lived inside my chest that came along with me everywhere I went.

Hafsa Manir - Montclair State University

The roars of stampeding thunderstorms terrorized us between long periods of clear sky and unrelenting sunlight. The heat at its worst would bounce off the concrete and make waves in the air…

Mel Johnson - Western Washington University

I have been here for at least twenty minutes, though I am starting to lose track of time. But I know I cannot pry myself away from her. Because I have tried a few times, and I have failed.

Anonymous

We, for multiple centuries, have been forced into a contradictory racial position, not fully fitting into the black-white binary so often pushed in American history. Legally classified as white when it served state power, while being treated as second-class citizens at best and disposable labor at worst.

Emily Allison - Queens University of Charlotte

It’s called a cervical dislocation. “Humane” is the word used to describe it, the swift dislocation of the spinal column from the skull.

Grace Oliveri - Adelphi University

Perhaps I could do as my ancestors did: sew a new quilt of hopeful patterns and pass it down as my family grows–a meek effort to spare them from the suffering which I can only imagine.