tomorrow

tomorrow 


there is a darkness in the world this girl is not ready for.

if you want her to survive: tell her the good days will end, remind her that the light in her eyes will fade, make sure she knows there is not and never will be a chance for anyone.

why would you let her have hope?

dark days ahead by morgan j.

do you remember when we first met? we were only six and you asked if i wanted to play. a simple yes opened a whole new world we carefully stitched together we explored the paths, fought villains like heroes we had our own rules and everything seemed possible. but life pushed us forward, we left the world behind tucked away in the shade during a bright summer day. years later and all we’re left with is fear, the nervous pounding of our hearts as we enter new ground but i know one thing i’m not letting you go and even if you are the one to forget me i know you’ll find someone you can laugh with again i hope you manage to break down your walls and i wish everything goes right this time.

i’m sorry life moves on, childhood friend, by remi

i’d go so far as to say it wouldn’t be any different. if i didn’t know what it looked like to hold hands and kiss with a feeling that’s more than just feeling, would i know it to exist at all? what would touches mean to a world without labels stitched on every heart? would i pet your hair and feel your breath on my cheek and know why my pulse is picking up, or would it be my bad navigation skills at a busy intersection? would my eyelashes tangle with yours and mean something to me? the flatness of relationships with nothing to be compared to. or maybe the absolute chaos of it all. maybe i’d see you and feel my words caught so tenderly in my throat, and maybe i’d know it’s because you’re more. or maybe i’d just think you’re a special type of friend. or maybe those mean the same thing. maybe it doesn’t really matter at all - and maybe that’s not maybe, because maybe it’s certainly. certainly i shouldn’t care. certainly the stars don’t flicker at our muddle of emotions and certainly the moon won’t go out for our sake.

certainly it should mean nothing, because aslong as you feel the same, it’s something.

where tv romances and more-than-relationships don’t exist, by jana

i remember the world we stitched from a few loose threads. i remember the laughter years ago.

what do we have now? we left our world behind. now we tell jokes with self depricating undertones. we’re terrified of the future and we feel oh so lonely.

i can’t help but wonder “what happened to us?”. from young, cheerful kids to sad, numb teens. from iridescent creativity to desaturated emotions.

what happened to us? by remi

capable by julia

my favorite feeling is coming home from my aunt’s house. she piles our arms with food for the days after and after and after. there’s a resigned feeling in my stomach, not wanting to leave but ready for my own home, or maybe that’s just the feeling of being full. this house is warm, from all the bodies lounging inside, relaxed, laden, with laughter. there’s the quiet walk back to our car, with shouts from behind of “get home safe!”, and then i’m waving bye and xavier’s shuffling his feet, and mom’s searching for the keys, and then we’re in the car, seated comfortably, eyelids already heavy. it’s one of my favorite places to be, with no expectations of action, only the calm movement of the vehicle navigating bumps and turns tirelessly. i wish i was tireless. there are some jokes shared, memories from the night, but soon enough the backseat goes quiet and my head has found its home against the car door window and my eyes shut, sealed by the monotonous jostling of my mother’s range rover. then, like magic, my eyes open, and we’ve turned right into our driveway in front of our house that stands impossibly tall, like a beacon, and it’s like a resolution: the idea that, for now, this is over, but will start up again in the future.

a kind of familiar by morgan alexis

how to vote by morgan j.

The midterm election is Tuesday, November 6, 2018. This will be the most consequential election of our lifetime, and yet only 26% of young people ages 18 to 29 say they will certainly vote in the midterms. That number is unacceptable, especially given we have the most to lose; our future and every social issue you claim to care about is at stake. Those certain to vote in 2018, based on a late-September Gallup poll, are 82% of those ages 65 and older, 69% of those 50 to 64, 55% of those 30 to 49, and 26% of those 18 to 29. Do you really want the people whose lives will not be affected by the vote to make your decisions for you?

First, register to vote and confirm or change your registration using the website www.USA.gov/register-to-vote. You may need to re-register or update your information if you have recently changed your address. Your state website should have information about how to change your party affiliation if you want to update it; party affiliation will determine how you can vote in primary elections. Make sure you have the proper ID to vote in your state by using the website www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/ voter-id.aspx. If you do not have the required ID, you may need to get a birth certificate or other documentation. This can take months, so check as soon as possible. This information should be available on your state website. Double check that you are registered to vote using the website www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote. You may be an “inactive voter” if you have not responded to a recent census or if you haven’t voted in several years. Some states will remove you from the voter polls if you are an inactive voter. The Supreme Court just issued a ruling allowing Ohio and other states to purge voters from their election registration rolls due to their failure to cast a ballot in

previous federal elections within a two-year period; this is being challenged in the Supreme Court, but currently stands. What this means is you cannot assume that you are registered for the 2018 elections, just because you should be. Check if your state has any similar laws, and make sure you are registered. Look up all relevant voter registration deadlines for your state and district, circle them on your calendar, and check your registration status again right before those deadlines pass, so you can be sure of it before it’s too late to do anything about it til the next voting cycle. Fill out your local census. If you or someone in your household does not fill out your census for two years in a row, you may not be allowed to vote even if you were previously registered. This is absolutely targeted at marginalized communities, low income voters, disabled voters, and anyone who simply can’t always afford to keep on top of every federal election and show up to vote in every senate race.

Secondly, plan ahead. Find your polling place and the hours during which you can vote using the website www.eac.gov/voters/election-day-contact-information. Check to see if you can vote early or absentee if you can’t make the polls on election day. View your ballot and find out what questions will be there ahead of time using the website www.vote411.org/ballot, which will give you a sample ballot for your location. These questions can be very important. Questions in 2018 will include important topics like Medicaid expansion and legalization of marijuana. Learn about early voting options using the website www.vote.org/early-voting-calendar. Make carpooling arrangements, either to get a ride or to drive people to the poles using the website http:// carpoolvote.com. LYFT is providing free and discounted rides to the polls. Set a reminder so you don’t forget to vote. Volunteer on a local campaign by knocking on doors or making calls. Sister District organizes volunteers to get out to swing districts to

win state elections for Democrats. Get out the vote by: reminding your family, friends, and neighbors to vote; hosting a fundraising party for a local candidate; and posting on social media to raise awareness, especially about local elections.

Thirdly, research. Brush on your political knowledge with this 4-minute read: https://medium.com/@lifewithinterest/2018-mid-terms-let-the-party-begind00fe22c0f17. Watch https://www.voanews.com/a/explainer-what-are-midtermelections/4338632.html. Check out the voter resources at Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan nonprofit aimed at engaging young voters. Find candidates to support. You can follow 2018 primaries and general elections with Ballotpedia. Emily’s List is helping to elect pro-choice women. She Should Run is a nonpartisan organization supporting women running for office. Let America Vote endorses candidates who support voting rights and voter protection. Latino Victory is working on increasing Latino representation in politics. Forward Majority is focused on winning back state legislatures. Find progressive candidates under 35 with Run For Something. Find organizational tools. Take back the House with SwingLeft, targeting swing districts. Check out Indivisible Guide. MoveOn.org will help create petitions. DoSomething.org. If you are a noncitizen who is unable to vote, check out United We Dream, a youth-led immigrant network, to find other ways to take action and organize.

Finally, vote. Here, https://866ourvote.org/, are nonpartisan election protection hotlines where you can reach a trained operator or an attorney to ask questions about your voting rights and more on election day. Call 866-OUR-VOTE for English, 888- VE-Y-VOTA for Spanish, or 888-API-VOTE for English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, and Bengali. Learn more about deceptive practices, voter intimidation, and more. If you’re in line to vote and stay in line, you are

allowed to stay as long as it takes to get to the front of the line and vote. No one can turn you away from the polls if you got on line within polling hours.

But not everyone in this country has access to the right to vote. If you have difficulty getting a voter ID, here are some thoughts: Contact a church. I wish I could say contact any church, but to be honest, if you look unconventional and you don’t know which churches in your town are the progressive ones, look for a Unitarian church. I suspect most synagogues would be more helpful than most evangelical churches, but I don’t know that from personal experience. Contact the local Democratic Party office. Contact a YMCA or a YWCA. Did you know that fighting racism is actually part of the Y’s charter? Pretty sure somebody in that office will be able to help you get the ID you need to register. Go to your town’s website and look for a prodiversity organization – a Multicultural Awareness Center, something like that. Give them a call. Call your library reference desk and ask if they know of anyone who could help.

Voting is fundamental to our democracy. There’s quite a few young people who are going to be eligible to vote in America during this election, so in light of the fact that we are currently thrumming with political interest I’d just like to remind them that abstaining from voting is not useful or radical; it’s playing right into the hands of the people who want this country to progress backwards. I can guarantee you that there will be an enormous conservative turn out, and if the younger generation doesn’t match it, it will be a disaster.

i don’t know what i expected from a spring afternoon, when the sunshine is spilling through the cobblestone streets. but the sight of dust sparkles floating around while vintage music is playing for no one paints a perfect nostalgia picture.

i never stepped inside. why should i care? i never knew this part of the town well anyway.but it makes me wonder: will this happen to our neighbourhood as well? will the places i know by heart turn to misty silhouettes of what once was?

a lonely, empty, abandoned café by remi

the one i’m waiting for by morgan j.

i know it’s time to let go, know it’s time to start again. if it only were that easy, maybe you’d still be my friend.

now you call me by my real name, which you’ve never done before. i’ve never felt so lonely, ever since you slammed the door.

oh it’s always the same - words on cosmic lace and soft hearts, something or other snaking through my ribcage. warm lips and crescent eyes. silk over saturn. the word obliterate. always, always the same.

but i’ve got this idea, yeah? because i don’t know what love’s like - i mean, you could teach me, show me what a stuttering heartbeat really feels like, but you’ve never even considered it, and it’s not your job to do that, resumés aren’t meant for that shit - but anyways, i’ve got this idea, yeah, alright, an idea i made up because i don’t have anything tangible to base it off, and that idea can only go so far as descriptions of faces under lamplight and grins pulled taught. a love i see in movies and in published poems.

but god, you’re gorgeous? you’re ethereal? you’re the one this idea centers on, baby, do you know that? funny how i’m writing fake words for a very, very real affection. funny how you read these sentences over and don’t even know.

funny how you don’t exist, because i’m the writer and i make the rules. sometimes i proofread and even i don’t know what i’m saying - so there’s that. it’s all a guessing game.

i meant what i said about always being the same, though, so don’t get that mixed up.

funny how by jana

love, unlove by sydney

Home; it tastes of bittersweet sadness, memories good and bad blocking the doors like a dragon. I can wonder and wander, but I know why they won’t let me in.

My heart swings in circles, creating rays of colours that are darkened by the black and white my family gives off.

The door is open, but it is not welcoming. My legs feel full of spiders, my battered suitcase rattling like a bunch of crows. How can I stay strong when she’s smiling, sadly, solemnly, regretful, like I’m not the one she wants to see.

No, the one she wants to see stopped being the one when she was thirteen and discovered girls made her heart flutter more than a boy ever would. When she discovered that girls are sweet like cherry cola and boys like lemonade, both appealing but their own different factor.

She was hoping I would come with a man on my arm instead of a tattoo.

But she still invites me in.

Mountains out of molehills

Are the most common of all.

Everyone pushes the dirt

Producing a spectacle

Within the confines of a hill.

The gift- if a gift it is,

Are the molehills made of mountains.

The compression

Depression,

Made by making something

Important very

small.

mountains by emma

spiderwebs by remi

spiderwebs. one for every human

one thread is one connection

every connection is a collection of memories

people influence you, you influence them

everything shapes you, your surroundings mold you

chains of reactions and conversations

cherish the good, heal from the bad

and continue to build your spiderweb

no matter what, you mean something good to someone

you’re a thread in so many webs

don’t break yours.