Does Our Labor = Our Value? by Jhon Carlos Barrera
Jhon Carlos Barrera. Image submitted by the poet. Does Our Labor = Our Value by Jhon Carlos Barrera Mami always said hard work will always beat out the restMami always said keep your head down and stay quiet, no llames la atenciónDon’t draw attention to yourself she saidOur silence is what we trade for our […]
Rent Is Up, Love Remains by Amari Murray
Amari Murray. Photo submitted by the poet. Rent Is Up, Love Remains by Amari Murray The landlord called ita market adjustment. We called it:Where are we supposed to go?The number on the paper climbed higher than anything we could afford. Rent went up.Groceries went up.The electric billlearned new numbers.Everything became more expensive except the thingswe […]
Haikuism: (not) wanting to die by Deborah Olatunji
Deborah Olatunji. Photo submitted by the poet. haikuism: (not) wanting to die by Deborah Olatunji it feels taboo to name it in the moment(s) but you’re sinking deeper than you swam somehow convinced enough people to recognize maybe this is not who Iam the picture of “how are you doing?” glitch between missed hangouts, forgotten […]
Poet Qadir Crosby wants more people to talk about masculinity, the military, and mental health
Qadir Crosby. Photo submitted by the poet. Deployment by Qadir Crosby As I packed my bags for the ArmyMy father said I became a man today Like merciless, mass murder makes me Any more of a man than the thing that’s between my legsMy wife asked me to return to her the same way I […]
Poet’s Press: A new poem on what gets delivered, and what gets lost, as robots take over
Alicia Cook. Photo submitted by the poet. The Last Mile by Alicia Cook Five delivery robotswait on the corner for work—autonomous prostitutesunder a blinking store sign.Their small pixel hearts blink red,but their owling eyes wink dead—sent out nightly for the lastmile no one wants to walk.One glitches and slumps off therutted edge of the cracked […]
Poet’s Press: “In It Together” – A Mother’s Meditation on Community, Culture, and Care
I hear the mother’s and fathers cries in my sleep
A collective memory
A heartbeat we all felt until it stopped
I feel their pain in my gut like I lost my son
Hold him just a little tighter and pray over him just a little more
Warning him about the rules
We don’t go unless there’s two
Someone gotta look like you
Poet’s Press: Remember Me Today
“Remember Me Today” is a poem written by poet and performer Chioma Sheri.
Poet’s Press: The Checklist
“The Checklist” is a poem written by musician, poet and artist Chris Niles.
Nation Free
“Nation Free” is a poem written by Black Queer multi-disciplinary artist, cultural producer, educator and Philadelphia’s inaugural poet, Kai Davis.
Weaving Freedom Dreams: A Collaborative Poem
This poem was compiled at the Fall 2024 Release Party for Love Now Magazine. Attendees were asked to write down their feelings and responses to various prompts, in haiku format, and submit them anonymously for publication. Following the event, the haikus were compiled by curator Kim Russell into a longer form poem, published above.