January Poetry Compilation

Sunstroke’s Monthly Poetry Compilation is a collection of work submitted by readers, contributors and staff members. Take a seat, light a candle, grab a cup of tea, and dive into the intricate words of our community.


this morning's tea tasted like peaches and my mother's dissatisfaction

By Nathalie Paulino

i could taste it in the honey at the bottom of my cup / how could 
something so sweet burn so much on its way down? / the 
change in the season made all the peaches rot / their sickly 
scent snuck up my nose / & lodged itself there forever / so that 
now i associate peaches with my tea / & my tea with my mother / & 
my mother with everything / i wondered if she still loved me after
 all / after all i don’t know how to not be the cause of 
dissatisfaction / not even to myself / especially not to myself / i 
can’t remember what my tea used to smell like / if anything at all

 

 

Clean-Cut

By Bella Ramírez

teeth together scalping
chips of plaque crackling 
burning bubbles with scorching suds
ripped out roots 
bloody blade bristles  
wash him away
welcome new day


At Midnight, the Intimacy of Anger

By Marie Naguit

these words are testament
of restlessness—
an implication of intense gnawing, 
especially on places where your touch 
had been felt.
i am worried for myself, a defeated 
captive of my own carnal indulgence. 
more than anything, i wanna fuck
you like the animal that you were. i sink
beneath my pain
and my jealousy. 

i am aroused by imagining how tensed 
your veins were holding the restraint 
underneath your garments. 
my blood rushes downwards as i see you 
numb your precious ethics and stood 
bravely upon the cry of the moment.
i visualize your arms suspended
over your head, a resignation
as you took off your shirt.
the tattoo on your left arm as visible 
as your ardor. what shirt did you wear? 
how did you smell? did the room temperature ease 
your uneasiness? were you uneasy in anticipation? 
were you surprised with how natural it felt? 
how many times did the thought cross your mind 
before it led you right back to her bed?

 

Find out how to submit to future Poetry Compilations here.