Featured Poetry - December, 2025
REVENGE FANTASY
By Victoria Krivo
childhood room re-modeled to a nursery;
journals in the attic, sports medals thrown out.
you watch as I’m relegated on further side-shelves
to make space for her growing family. I keep
my mourning out of sight, celebrate
when I’d rather sleep through the day.
but then comes your careless brand of cruelty,
snide remarks dressed as jokes.
why–when you see tender skin–do you insist
on digging until a wound takes shape? Oh,
I could show you how to miss me. I could freeze you
in our last memories, searching for signs in hindsight.
turn your jests into a bullet that ricochets through us both
a last note burned in your brain–& when you hang me
higher than the stars with ornaments on the tree
would you finally understand the depth of this grief? how it bleeds
into what should be others moments of joy, corrupted
by guilt & shame.
ABOUT VICTORIA:
Victoria is an emerging writer based in McLean, Virginia. She double majored in English and Economics at the University of South Carolina, and her poem Euthanasia has been published in Harrow House Journal.
ABHASANA
By Farblos Artem
Beauty’s an illusion
A room full of mirrors
Flickering candle in the midst
Each mirror is a reflection
An Abhasana
Angles differ
One from the other
Appearances of faces
Same source
One Flame
Flickering
Dying and Living
Dancing with the wind
Glisten and Quiver
What do you see?
What I see around me
Is what I am.
Inside me
Behind my eyes
Inside my mind
Everyone’s a reflection
Of the same flame
Re-living every moment
Six directions
Four dimensions
Or maybe Anant
All of you
All of me
Maybe you are me
Maybe I am you.
DISGRUNTLED MENTAL HEALTH CLIENT
By Freddie Obregón
“You’re not allowing yourself to feel depressed”
Says my therapist after I ask her,
“Why am I abusing caffeine, cannabis, and nicotine?”
She continues,
“Just like you get food poisoning,
And your body naturally vomits to rid itself of the disease
Your body needs to naturally work depression out of its system.”
I just wish I could somehow
Open up so many holes in my body
Open up so many holes in my mind
Open up so many holes in my soul
And let this stuff pour out.
“You’re just looking for the easy way out!”
Says the confusing therapist.
Depression is a bitch.
ABOUT FREDDIE:
Freddie is a Texan who struggles (not "suffers"- he refuses to be a victim) with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD). He is currently on the long road to addiction recovery and picks himself up after every relapse. Feel free to send him poetry at: freddie.obregon@yahoo.com.
MY CANDLE'S STILL BURNING
By Jason Kirk Bartley
My candle’s still burning,
though a different size,
and a different length,
My candle’s still burning at near to full strength,
As It’s perched here in the window,
And you can see it flicker from afar,
You can see it through a night’s sky wherever you are,
Though my candle still flickers and threatens to be no more,
Like a light house in the bay,
leading ships to the shore,
I have a great testimony,
to help others along,
When they’re stuck with life’s decisions,
crushed in the middle of life’s throng,
as the wind whistles through the bay,
the turbulence becomes more to bear,
My candle still flickers to let others know it’s still there,
to show others it can be done,
Do not drown in life’s problems,
Persevere to the end and help others find the way,
Be a brother, sister, or a maybe even a friend.
Your experience matters,
It matters where you’ve been,
And you’ve overcome so much,
Do not keep it to yourself,
Let it burn and be real,
Put it on your candlestick no matter how you feel,
For everyone to see,
Let your light so shine,
Set people free,
from the bondage you carried for what seemed like an eternity,
Your candle still burns brightly,
The darker the night,
Lead others in the pathway,
In the middle of our fight,
Where happiness can be,
Be that light on the window sill for all to see,
That casts its shadows upon the wall,
Be an encouragement be a blessing,
Be an inspiration to all.
The more problems that come your way,
And they surely will,
Defines who you are,
As your light flickers brightly still,
to everyone near and far,
Let’s be that example,
wherever you are.
ABOUT JASON: Jason resides in Ohio. He is 50 years of age and struggles with paranoid schizophrenia daily, but has been stable for close to 20 years. He has a Masters degree in ministry from Ohio Christian University in Circleville, Ohio. He has won many awards and been published in various places.
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