1. Making Eve

Spewed out of God's Sixth Day WIDEopen post utero mouth, these zygotes,twin embryos, now grown, one buriedinside the other, tumblefall into Eden.History's first birth defect.That story about the rib?History's first cover-up.Nixon, listen up.God did i

2. Meet the Cover Artist: Malgorzata Jasinska

Artist StatementEven as a little girl I was extremely introverted, creative, and imaginative. I'm a loner and people think I'm strange, but some of them appreciate my very subjective point of view.My name is Malgorzata Weronika Jasinska but I am als

3. Seven

"If there was someway to make me have never been age seven, I would have chosen it. It would have remained the number of the days in a week, or the number in a game of hopscotch  I would have thrown a pebble in and giddily hopped over, but

4. Agent Orange: Infancy

She hikedSplit hoovesSplit lipSun then moon then sun againCrinkle earedSmash faced catHad whimperedScampered awayLeaving a trail of fleas like bread crumbsShe thought:Beauty has been drained of this place(If only she had brought a coffin, proper)But

5. Weather Report

the potato woman raises one eye against the wrongful night, clutchingeach alien root like a childin her dirty skirts. tonight's harvest is a mouth not the white rock nor the mountain she had in mind, but a bit of colortowards her unbornher face hold

6. Meet the Cover Artist: Escha van den Bogerd

Artist StatementPainting is my passion my life, and is about sharing thoughts and emotions with others. My works of art have become extremely personal; they are an emotional response to my surroundings and experiences. These are reflections of joy,

7. Fire

FireIt's not likeShe's never tasted fireIt had engulfed her, forcing her skin to blisterFlames whipped up in the folds of her skirtSmoke smothered her faceFlames chewed her eyelashes to the rootHer tonsils singed she couldn't alwaysTalk(Scream)She h

8. Golden Maiden

As the Golden Maiden stood imprisoned within the cathedral tower, the villagers milled about below in the town square.  They were all dressed identically in dark, hooded cloaks as they stood in line for rotten vegetables.  She stared down

9. you think

you thinkbecause i don't talkabout confetti petalsparade of flowerszephyr wind zingthat i don't see or feel thembut i doand carry my gazeto stems and leavespress my ear to rootsthe quiet causationbehind the loud bloomwhich is a pebblein my mouthan i

10. ecowoman

she is unaware of his presencemuch older than him   but he cannot tell her agethere is something timeless about herold trees look like thatone knows  they have been around for a whileyet they have the incredible life force within themt

11. The Gift of Slow

for robinthey will say she was river-bound made of clay pure as her past would allow forgetting she cooked and carried the sins of men on her already broken back forgetting she was made of valuable bones by which men proved themselves men forgetting

12. Meet the Cover Artist: Jacqui Bellamy

Artist StatementA graduate in Fine Art, Jacqui founded Pixelwitch Pictures in 2004 as an umbrella for her photography and film-making skills.

13. Learning to Forgive

He had been dying for awhile.  Cancer.  First the liver, then spreading out of control.  I envisioned an internal forest fire, blazing a path of destruction through his vital organs.

14. Questions

"Why did he leave me?"  She asked,But she never should have.  A trapdoor was released within her mind and she entered The Hall of Mirrors, where her question was reflected back at her: "Why?  Why? Why?"

15. meeting

her hair   a lion’s maneher face   neither old nor youngher smile   knowingher eyes   through-seeing

16. Raisins and prunes (reduced for quick sale)

Raisins and prunes (reduced for quick sale)When askedShe had hopped onThat motorcycle (told hesitation to take a backseat)Wrapped her arms around hisLeather jacketElation had come through herEasy as the wind in her hairThe engine growled as they whis

17. bad, slow, and powerful nights

~for katherine~I. bad nightsthere are forests and forests of animalsliving in her shouldersendurance gone wild so many timestheir territory burns inside her posture like a secondor third spine

18. M.

Miss M., you're my unequivocal Queen of betweens, a little sunriseto help me from banging my knees against the stove every time the clouds dosomething unexpected.

19. Meet the Cover Artist: Anastasia Ponyatosvakya

Artist Statement: Anastasia Ponyatovskaya graduated as an artist from the college in Sankt-Petersburg, Russia and Academy of art in Moldova. After joining the Union of Artists in 2004, she has become widely revered for her unique style and imag

20. a modern day persephone

i slip my feet into high heelsthat strut me through my dayfour inches of stiletto steelthat leave exclamation pointsinstead of flowersspringing like arrows of desireeverywhere my heel has pressedlike a lovers kiss to the waitingready, wanting, ground

21. the big melt

birds startle behind your eyesyour mouth holds a floodthat wants to wash outfoam over the cliffsof what is between us

22. Headstone

It was the thoughtless grey mass on the screenthat sent me spinning without feet or brainwhilst she clicked and saved and captured itloving its shadowy asymmetry

23. Ice

Her boyfriend left her and she froze. It was as simple as ice. Her surface remained smooth and cold as she clumped through the doors of the corner deli and ordered an iced coffee. She would have preferred it hot but was afraid of melting. The co

24. Meet the Cover Artist: Diane Archer

Artist Statement: My work focuses on issues of female body image in a contemporary context. I am particularly interested in how women view themselves, and how this perception is altered by contemporary western society. I have worked with man-made ar

25. Meet the Cover Artist: Lisa Selby

Artist Statement: I am a Brighton based artist and studied Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University. Each year I participate in the Brighton open house/studio exhibitions.My paintings are either self portraits or are based on close female friends of

26. winter things

you think of cold and icebare branches and black skiestracks that get lost in the snowi think of stars to find my way byflames that lick the night awaythe softness of your skin, of your fur,of your sighsi will help you digso that we canburrow in toge

27. The Body Electorate

The Body is in full swing electionCampaigning for a Senate seat in the House of Body ImageAn underdogBony knuckles shift unbound in the fight for dominanceGiven half a chance between nicotine streaked fingers And crash dietsShe blocks the mental carc

28. THRUM

She shakes her tired-ass buttto the thrum of the juke,thrusts pelvis out to g-string in another ten dollar bill& maybe a buck from the cheapskatetonguing the air at bar's end.

29. Boundaries

Within the fabled village walls, the boundaries had been clearly marked. For Chastity, the confusion occurred one day while she was walking close to the edge. She peered through the tall grass and spotted a beautiful beast staring at her with soft ve

30. Article

She drapes courage across her shoulder,this well-worn garmentshe wears with familiarity(the way others wear heels),surface supple-tough,familiar to her like old leather,a gift maybe bestowed long agoby a father, brother,another male progenitor, maybe

31. she didn't say nothing

you know how ungrateful children can be. shelooked up at her mother with a look -  with that look. that look of i-won't-say-nothing that says everything. after all that she had done! after allthe work and care! the negotiations pony ta

32. i blame you, helena popcorn vendor

she's a popcorn vendorno she's not an airplaneor a shiny factory toolor an illegible governmentdocument. she's a popcornvendor.

33. Slave

I went with you she saysFrom cold polders toarid ochre plainsI watered dry souls and I fed the flocks whilepulling their thieving hands off my throat

34. Meet the Cover Artist: Lidia Simeonova

Artist Statement: My artwork is a reflection of my life. I have projected frozen moments - good and bad - onto the canvas. As my style and personality matured, I traveled the world. My artwork tells a story - my story, of the different periods in my

35. searching for shoes

she wanted to try on her mother's shoes soshe opened the closet. in the closet she found hard pursed lips and a voice of steel. a forehead crease and polite gesture. she found a gravel pit way back in the back.

36. a lollipop wrapper (or a vacuum cleaner bag)

it didn't start this way. in the beginningshe didn't put anythinganywhere.but then again, no one put anythingin her either, which canleave one feelingquite empty.

37. Haircut

When I enter the hairdressersI am a woman ina world of ladiesof make-up and babies andwhen they offer me a drinkI want to put my boots upon the lacquered counter andsay  'A pint of bitter please'But I don't

38. Falling

I love fall.The air is spiced with wood smoke and chill.The trees are heart stopping bouquets of colorand the color that I love the best is yellow.When I first moved back to Minnesotafrom my brief return to FloridaI was introduced to a photographer.

39. Sheltered

Iraq is a conservative, strongly religious society where many women are sheltered from contacts with males who are not family members.Where I grew upin South Floridathe guys all tried to holdnot you -- not right away --but the door, your handyour goo

40. The Bruise Pea

You awoke one morningwith violets growing on your pale skin.Satin blue and viridian were their complements,and no one asked how possible it wasfor one green pea, (not even brown or hardened with age)to penetrate twenty mattressesthen twenty feather b

41. Twelve Princesses

Kiss me, Celia.Kiss me, Kate.To each of the other nine,rain your love on my facelike thick moss. We have spunour webs poorly each day,waking to passeeking time,fly-poison slowin the light hours.Who was heto follow us past the silver and gold forests,

42. Those WHOO HOO Jimmy Choo Shoes

Sara zips on her skin-tightred leather dress.No underwear.Jimmy Choo shoes,found in a garbage binnear the Dakota.Only a half-size too small.She wonders what womanwould toss away shoesso posh that their costwould have filled Sara'sfridge for three mon

43. A Living Woman

the grandma of my memorystill grows still retains the scentof white shoulders andold-fashioned romancewhich lingers at her throatand neck like a necklace andbracelet made of hope and mistand perhaps a little poetrylike is stronger than loveshe once t

44. further than a lullaby

for robin this world hastaken so much of herthe sister she heldhands with evenin sleep, the herowho told her he'd never let go as he drove her away from the scene of the crime his mind a blueprint of the days they wouldhave she has given miles miles

45. All Dizzy Day

all dizzy day the drone bees gatherthigh-deep in nectarsucked up in sunshinepunching the primal clock forgetting it's really honey they're making back there in the darkthe old Queen knows though the moment she diesthe hive dies with her

46. Meet the Cover Artist: Edie Daldrup

Biography: Edie Daldrup was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She began her career in the arts at a young age while volunteering for the Arizona Opera Company; participating as a supernumerary in operas such as Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, and

47. Meeting of the Tribes

Five women huddle,heads close together,profiles only - five sharp-featured faces, lips firm, eyes hooded in concentration.Tribal markings on gaunt cheekbones,hair black or grayhangs unstyled to strong shoulders.These women I'd like on my side.I'd lik

48. Baby Things

Some of the women sat in Jill's family room, plates of spinach salad and chicken divan perched on their laps. The remainder circled the dining room table, picking at the brie and crackers and fruit arranged on gold-rimmed platters. Their voices mingl

49. I Asked My Sister

i asked my sister      to come back for just one minuteStick GirlStick GirlThey want you to disappearto beinvisibleerase your breasts, hips, thighsyour things bother themThey want you to throw up, not blow uphave a half

50. Meet the Cover Artist: Jessica Burke

Biography: Jessica Burke was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1976. She received her Masters degree in Painting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2005. This summer she was asked to become a part of Appalachian State University's Art D