Contents
when I became the bleak
Faith Angiocchi
I Am Your Witness (I Promise)
Kenny Borsch
Offshoot
Isabella Kaufman
Our Own
Sasha Jade
Caramel
Em Loney
Riverbed
Emma Hoffman
The Final Birthday
Hannah Rieger
Through Her Eyes
Carleigh DeBrock
Letter to a Phoenix
Sydney Schimmel
Serenity
Carleigh DeBrock
There I Found the Sun
Paul Wagner
Luminescenza
Claire Palopoli
The Kingfisher
Josie Jones
Design Rationale
Audrey Pierson
Entropy
Emma Hoffman
ode to your cup of tea placed warm in my hands
Mady Thetard
mt
Carleigh DeBrock
A Heavy Space Between Us
Kenny Borsch
Silent Ephemera
Kai Clark
The Photo Taken By Ella Jean
Em Loney
Lapsed
Em Loney
Field Lament
Elizabeth Angione
Under the Mirror
Paul Wagner
Idolatry
Braylon L. James
Veiled Fragility
Kai Clark
Vanity
Braylon L. James
Will I Ever See You Again?
Kenny Borsch
Lush
Rinoa Chech
The Final Birthday
Soft shoulders bump into mine
as my family crowds around
the sturdy, dark dining table.
His weak, freckled hands—
once rough,
now gone soft.
The cozy smell of a struck match
reflects against his silver-rimmed glasses,
lighting the baby pink candles
in bursts of vibrant orange and red.
The flushed, peeling skin on his
bright, smiling face—
always shining through
his persistent suffering.
The unsynchronized singing of loved ones,
unaware that this day is the last of its kind.
The taste of sugary chocolate cake—
just as sweet and comforting as he once was.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
My name is Hannah Rieger, and I am an Integrated Language Arts major here at Kent State graduating in of Spring 2026. "The Final Birthday" is in remembrance of my grandfather who passed away from cancer a few years ago. I saw an old picture of him on his last birthday celebration, and I knew I needed to write about it.