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POETRY

sugar blood and cherry guts
​
June Gormin

 

you taste strangely sweet:

of passionfruit and sage, 

of sugar blood and cherry guts.

 

you smell like creation:

of gas and wet leaves,

like puppy breath and bloody fists. 

 

you feel like orpheus:

and i can be eurydice. 

I Know You’re Capable
​
Anonymous
​

I know you’re capable

I've seen you finish harder things

I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t believe you were able to

 

These things might sound

Strange 

As they were not meant for you

 

No, these are words of 

“Encouragement”

Words of 

“Belief”

Spoken to me from my 

many mentors 

I have had

Throughout the years

 

Each one trying

To help push me past 

My limits 

So that I may grow 

As a person 

 

But 

In actuality 

Their words only 

Made it that much more 

Difficult with

Someone who you

Look up to

Expressing their belief of 

Greatness

 

Greatness that a has always 

Seemed so far away 

Unattainable

Impossible to grasp 

Even if I am 

Standing on their shoulders 

These Giants, who first showed me 

This inner greatness

That they saw when they gazed upon my 

Unshaped potential 

Assuring me that they

Only showed me what 

I was capable of

Who could possibly march 

Towards the finish line

Head held high

When they are weighed down

By great expectations

Look At Me Like A Man
​
Anonymous
​

 

You tell me that my dad is going to have to watch boys when I get older

That I can’t even look at a boy until I’m thirty-six

So why are they all looking at me?

 

He pulls my hair

And pushes me off the monkey bars

But it's fine, right?

He just likes me

Right?

 

You tell me to sit with my legs crossed

Talk in a soft, agreeable tone

To not interrupt him while he’s speaking

It’s not ladylike.

 

You take me out of class

My skirt is too short

My shirt cuts too low

It distracts the boys

What about the class time I’m missing while changing clothes?

 

I’m going to school to be a doctor!

Maybe a scientist

Or an astronaut

What do you mean “I’m too pretty to be smart”

 

Someone help me please

No I wasn’t alone

No, I don’t remember what I was wearing

Why does it matter?

 

I am fully qualified for this position

I have extensive schooling and a great work ethic

Oh right

They don’t want someone like me

 

You get paid how much?

I get eighty-five percent of that

Why do I care?

 

I want better.

I deserve better. 

I want to be looked at like a man.

I Wish I Was A Dog 
​
Anonymous
​

​

I wish I was a dog,

So I wouldn't care what I eat

or how my clothes fit.

​

I wish I was a dog,

So I didn't need to disappear into the background

or retake pictures I cry over.

​

I wish I was a dog,

So my very best would always be enough

and I could take real risks.

​

I wish I was a dog,

Because I wouldn't need to change

and I could actually enjoy life.

HSS

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Huntington Surrey Lit Mag Spring 2024
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