A digital literary magazine grown on the campus of Carleton University & inspired by the staghorn sumac rooted there
Suggestions
Add a Dash of Sumac to your Day
A month ago / my boyfriend gave me a carnation / I didn’t want it…
I met you on a Tuesday / Lost in the woods / And your dandelion-seed…
I found a mannequin at the thrift store today. She was tucked in between a…
A Microsoft 365 subscription costs 179 dollarydoos, equating 15 / pints per annum. Therefore, you…
One must imagine, the Kayal that flows to the sea, / to be pristine, to be…
I fought with you again last night. // Your mossy curls, longer now, / hang…
Upon the steps of the mighty Parthenon, so stood Polias, the high priestess of the…
I am walking to the bus stop / when I come across a dinner party…
Sometimes, I think there’s a god. Drowsy and with eyes half-lidded, I’ll make my way…
“We love potatoes. But no one loves potatoes as much as my daughter.” My face…
Apathy is the enemy of Idealism, though Idealism has yet to notice. This lucid hatred…
new perspective, renewal / can’t imagine mere semantics / cool confesses salt of the earth …
There is a house up for sale on Inglis Court / It has red brick…
I was sitting on my usual armchair facing my therapist, holding a large canvas against…
stretched out honeyed wavelengths // flow from the “deep sleep meditation” playlist / through the…
“Please, Miss? Can you help me?” The girl is quite ill; that much is obvious.…
I place my head carefully / and a thousand acres of zaatar / descend with…
I can hear the distant sputtering of the generator shutting down through the shabby wooden…
Observe! The writer in their natural habitat // cacophonous cafés, claustrophobic bookshelf crevasses, / a…
After Emily and I make our patio promise, she sends me off with her guitarist,…
A chocolate sprite caressed my tongue / And told me, in a voice high-strung, /…
I get one of those big industrial blenders / and I start tossing in /…
Did you know that a synonym for passion is agony? / Because to love is…
I dream of predictable shapes / and tessellate my house with floor tiles curving up…
Have you heard of the soil that rots? / A land of wither, a land…
I don’t like it when we have to go into the bunker on the hill.…
Hip-firing my Barrett 50 cal / Say hello to my ONLY FRIEND / 1 haha…
It smells like shit. I can do better than that. It smells like death, like…
I did it to myself, Clara thought, then added: I did it to all of…
I want to deflect any assumptions that you might have already made to yourself, dear…
For ten years my husband and I have been counting pollinators. Around mid-February we print…
The sun hangs low on the village of one street. Gripping a basket full of…
I want to tell you how much your mother and I love you. Let me…
If your father was in the military your family could expect to move every three…
Add a Dash of Sumac to your Day
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A comfortable place in the unconscious
Can one dream while lying awake? This proximity of cloud. Consensus, the end of parenthetical. Draws curtains, threat. This pragmatism:…
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A Yellow Carnation
A month ago / my boyfriend gave me a carnation / I didn’t want it / but now I’m stuck…
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In the Weeds
I met you on a Tuesday / Lost in the woods / And your dandelion-seed touch / Set my worried…
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Mannequin at the Thrift Store
I found a mannequin at the thrift store today. She was tucked in between a box of junk and a…
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Thirst
A Microsoft 365 subscription costs 179 dollarydoos, equating 15 / pints per annum. Therefore, you should stay / on mine,…
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Wet Gore
One must imagine, the Kayal that flows to the sea, / to be pristine, to be untouched. / Allowed to be.…
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Centipede
I fought with you again last night. // Your mossy curls, longer now, / hang from tired branches and sway…
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Curiosity
Upon the steps of the mighty Parthenon, so stood Polias, the high priestess of the Greeks’ golden age: poised tall,…
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God-Eaters
I am walking to the bus stop / when I come across a dinner party / I was not invited…
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I Am Writing About God for Some Reason: Ramblings of an Atheist in Crisis
Sometimes, I think there’s a god. Drowsy and with eyes half-lidded, I’ll make my way to the bus stop. Under…
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I Love Potatoes!
“We love potatoes. But no one loves potatoes as much as my daughter.” My face used to burn when my…
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Idealism & Pragmatism (& Apathy)
Apathy is the enemy of Idealism, though Idealism has yet to notice. This lucid hatred may be the only thing…
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what theatre people believe in
new perspective, renewal / can’t imagine mere semantics / cool confesses salt of the earth pulling the trigger to heaven…
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Inglis Court
There is a house up for sale on Inglis Court / It has red brick and white windows with black…
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Moon-Drunk
I was sitting on my usual armchair facing my therapist, holding a large canvas against my lap. “Should I show…
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Night ritual
stretched out honeyed wavelengths // flow from the “deep sleep meditation” playlist / through the tangled earbuds / and slowly…
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The Devil’s Deal
“Please, Miss? Can you help me?” The girl is quite ill; that much is obvious. Such a little thing—she couldn’t…
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The Other Side of Your Chest
I place my head carefully / and a thousand acres of zaatar / descend with me. / Here there’s a…
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The Peephole
I can hear the distant sputtering of the generator shutting down through the shabby wooden walls of the outhouse. The…
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Homo scriptor
Observe! The writer in their natural habitat // cacophonous cafés, claustrophobic bookshelf crevasses, / a modest desk under the waning…
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Clean Boost
After Emily and I make our patio promise, she sends me off with her guitarist, Jimmy. He has nothing planned…
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HUNGER
A chocolate sprite caressed my tongue / And told me, in a voice high-strung, / Yet whispered, like a lover,…
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Smoothie
I get one of those big industrial blenders / and I start tossing in / pineapple / and yogurt /…
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the shape of you, in a prayer between my lips
Did you know that a synonym for passion is agony? / Because to love is to know the stretch of…
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The walls are thin
I dream of predictable shapes / and tessellate my house with floor tiles curving up walls / roof slates overlapping…
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The Soil that Rots
Have you heard of the soil that rots? / A land of wither, a land of decay, / A land…
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The White
I don’t like it when we have to go into the bunker on the hill. Mummy says it’s to keep…
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Friend
Hip-firing my Barrett 50 cal / Say hello to my ONLY FRIEND / 1 haha react. Scarface / run in…
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Cold Steel
It smells like shit. I can do better than that. It smells like death, like rotting flesh. The worst part…
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Anatomies of Fault
I did it to myself, Clara thought, then added: I did it to all of us. She walked with a…
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The Autobiography of Credence Crow
I want to deflect any assumptions that you might have already made to yourself, dear reader. This is not a…
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To Make A Raspberry
For ten years my husband and I have been counting pollinators. Around mid-February we print off our identification sheets, grab…
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Yarn
The sun hangs low on the village of one street. Gripping a basket full of yarn, the witch shuffles past…
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The Common Denominator
I want to tell you how much your mother and I love you. Let me begin: I knew I loved…
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Family Chronicles: Cold War Europe on $5 a Day
If your father was in the military your family could expect to move every three years. We lived at six…
