Issue 27 | Fall 2024

A Collection of Poetry | Fiction | CNF | Visual Art

Hello Friends,

It’s time to announce Wild Rood Journal’s Fall 2024 issue.

Here’s my welcome video and a poem to share with you:

~
Emily Kerlin
Pears

last year I was bitter, 
citrus peel, kale, 
karate chop
maim

anger pinched every
soft thing:
inner arms, 
temple,
lip

bile swallowed 
over and over,
teeth, tongue,
green, 

but this year,
a bowl of pears
on the table, 
just ripe and too many
 
I am back 
from dark, cold 
kitchens, 
abandonments, 
stacks of ramen wrappers 
spilling from the trash.

I am back
from hard 
hits, empty boxes, 
trickles of blood
snaps of bone, 
microplastics,
bad trips, 

the ones that got away, 
the ones I pushed away, 
the ones that stayed,

the sharp stick 
of old trauma 
I whittle 
down daily, 

and now, 

the overeager daffodils,
embarrassing themselves
in February

the delicate
eggs of fritillaries, 
clinging to chaff

to step lightly into the garden, 
two perfect pears in my hand

~

Check out the rest of the issue online here or click the link below to download the PDF (available to paid subscribers).