The Skrews Poetry Syndication, Issue 003: 2021

By The Skrews Syndication

The Skrews Syndication is an independent literary publication that is dedicated to the darker, pain-filled words of poets who've experienced severe adversity, trauma, and tribulation in their lives. While the element of suffering is often held in high esteem in the poetry community, most poets who haven't already created a name go unheard. This publication is here to change this. We are by those, for those, and celebrated by those who are in this very real state of chaos.

 

Issue 003 (A Changing World, 2021), is a collection of fifty-four poems from various amateur poets across the globe.  The year 2021 has been another difficult year for many of us, and in respect, these poets have written a wide encompassment of poetry that highlights the subjects of isolation, grief, mental angst, displacement, and much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Skrews Syndication
• Release date: Dec 16, 2021

Book preview

The Skrews EmblemThe Skrews Syndication, 2021

The Skrews Syndication.

A Changing World. 2021

Publisher: The Skrews Syndication

Published Year: 2021

Issue Number: 003

Issue Tag: 2021 Q3

SSBN: 7317D017-459B-4121-97C8-5564889870E1

Editor: L.A. Wyatt

Assistant Editor: Kayla Priest

Engineer: L.A. Wyatt

Cover Image: Skrews Syndication

Copyright © 2021 by Skrews Syndication

Cover image and derivatives © 2021 by Skrews Syndication

Poetry copyrights held by the respective authors

Publishing permissions granted by their holders

Made in Atlanta

Dedication.

This issue is dedicated to Valerie. Your early departure from this world has taught us countless lessons. I wish the passage of time could be reversed, and perhaps in an alternate reality, I could have said the perfect words to change this. I hope you have finally found your peace.

Gratitude.

To the many of you who are truly the ones that make this syndication possible – we extend an abundance of appreciation. We continue to proudly hold space for you as an outlet. For the voices who otherwise might fall silent, for those souls which find their solace through paper and ink, and for those reading who relate to the tribulations of their fellow poets, we see all of you.

We want to thank you all for the grace and tolerance shown to us during the release of this issue. Though it wasn’t an easy decision – the date alterations were necessary during this time of great loss in our immediate family. Your understanding has been a beautiful gift and will forever be cherished.

Only darkness can bring meaning to the light... for the darkness is a mirror, a mere reflection of luminescence on the other side. Both are meant to be felt, and only when seeing the beauty within the darkness, can one be guided into the light.

From the Editors: A Changing World.

The room was dimly lit with an early morning light and the silence was somehow piercing. With closed eyes, it’d be impossible to discern that the room was filled with people. All eyes were directed at me as I sat on my knees in the middle of the living room. I must’ve inadvertently made myself as small as I could’ve. That’s how I felt at least.

I hadn’t spoken today yet, not really. Just enough to delegate off arrangements for this audience. And just to tell the children they’re missing school today. That was about an hour ago. My focus cycled between the three sets of eyes in the room that mattered most. The littlest three.

It had been an off week for them. I had picked them up the prior Sunday at midnight and have since been driving them out-of-district to and from school. It was like a mini adventure and one in which they carried a degree of excitement doing. But deep down, they could tell something was off.

I had considered bringing them to breakfast today before this. A selfish choice for me, honestly. So I can lock in the last memory of what life was like before. Fleeting moments pass so quickly, and they rarely get the considerations they deserve. But when the alarm went off this morning, it took every ounce of my will to just keep myself composed. I knew I couldn’t.

I cleared my throat and prepared to speak. I must’ve recited this a million times since I found out yesterday evening. I had attempted to spin the right words through my head over and over as if there were any right words for this scenario anyways. Once I speak, these three children will never be the same again. Their laughter, their joy, their world will be permanently tarnished with this hardship.

My jaw quivered as I opened my mouth.

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