By: Chloe Low

By: Sanjana Karthik    ​

By: Rhea Bogarapu | Read part one of her piece here. Read part two here.

By: Rhea Bogarapu | Read part one of her piece here.

And as quickly as the auburn comes,
so does it go. Away for another year,
leaving us in the blistering winds
of winter.

Oh such agonising temptation,
not a speck of colour in the midst of
brazen snow. Where have you gone,
where have you been?

Alas, I await.

Await for the renewal of seasons,
for the renewal of us.

I still long for your broken promises,
​and your empty touch.

         - Winter’s Decay 

By: Rhea Bogarapu | Read part two of her piece here.

​The eve of us came
as quickly as the lost
leaves of autumn.

A time of triumph, a
season of change.
You are more than I can
desire, a gift of nature
heeding its way.

All these colours begin
to transform, just as my
heart's favorite pastimes.
Tinges of auburn scarlet
swallow me whole and
I'm left to renew.

These winds gust me
forward, and suddenly I
find myself with you. 

​                     -- Autumn's Blessings

By: Sarah I. Saiyed ​

You, Brave girl/ bulletin board for a body/ thumb-tacked thumb prints of strange men tracing your skin/
You, Brave girl/ who calls them scars/ until they scab over with worse things.
You, Brave girl/ wash your hands with dish soap/ more plate than person/ let them bite and chew/ on parts of you/ too bitter to be sweet.
You, Brave girl/ wolf-child/ animal woman/ when they call your anger a call for blood/ sink your teeth in their flesh/ fire calls for fire/ so, burn/ like every woman ever lit on a pyre for being beautiful.
You, Brave girl/ watch them bleed/ see the iron and metal coursing through their veins/ more machine than men.
You, Brave girl/ savage being/ history like a bedrock from oppression/ pay attention/ they drag knives against your palm/ teach you what blood is made of/ but you, brave girl/ already know what it means to bleed, don’t you?
You, Brave girl/ listen to their rules/ rattle the chains/ jagged nails claw numbers against the concrete walls/ they wanted to teach you a lesson/ so learn rebellion like a second language
You, Brave girl/ want to be called a woman/ your tongue nailed to the roof of your mouth/ rinse your throat of all the things you didn’t say/ it takes courage to scream like that.
You, Brave girl/ watch/ they carve into your legs/ arrows to what parts of you they will hurt first/ but you already know don’t you? / you have hurt this body too.
You, Brave girl/ silly child/ how long before you understand/ you are not meant to survive/ live anyway.
You, Brave girl/ there is nothing braver than daring to be alive.

​Roses leak blood
Violets rain blue
It wasn’t enough for me to love you,
Sunflowers have shade
Cherry blossoms rot
My heart was played you took all I got

Flowers should smell too sweet,
Every color of the rainbow
Was your way of letting me know,
They basked in the sun’s beams,
And every single petal
Was a reason to settle

For your smile
And your touch
How you never asked me for much
They promised nights
In your arms
When they used to never do harm

Your roses leak blood
Violets rain blue
It wasn’t enough for me to love you,
Sunflowers have shade
Cherry blossoms rot
My heart was played you took all I got

And these last few days
I’d pick up a flower
And close my eyes
Just for an hour
And in the chill
Of December
The withered silk made me
Remember
That roses leak blood
And violets rain blue
We ran out of time
​And real flowers do too