Mangrove Review Mangrove
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2017 Volume 14 Volume Mangrove Review Mangrove Mangrove Review 2017 Volume 14 Volume 14 MangroveReview 2017 Executive Editor Editors Taylor Sweat Kelsey Abell Elizabeth Feins Eddie Krzeminski Asst. Executive Editor Puccia Lakshman Taylor West Mark Massaro Michael Pineda Managing Editor Dianna Sandora Temitayo Abdulkareem Teresa Scott Aliza Torres Faculty Advisors Design Editor Jill Allen and Lori Cornelius Jason Elek Special thanks to Dr. Kim Jackson, Dr. billY Gunnels, and Jim Gustafson Mangrove Review is the student-edited literary and arts maga- zine for Florida Gulf Coast University, showcasing the work of FGCU students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and mem- bers of the community. The views and opinions expressed inMan - grove Review are solely those of the individual authors and in no way represent those of the editors and staff of Mangrove Review, employees of Florida Gulf Coast University, or the University Board of Trustees. Mangrove Review gratefully acknowledges support from the Of- fice of Undergraduate Studies, the Office of Research and Gradu- ate Studies, and the College of Arts and Sciences. If there are no mangroves, then the sea will have no meaning. It is like having a tree without roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea... — words of a Thai fisherman Mangrove Review takes its name from the mangrove tree. Of the more than 50 species of mangroves worldwide, Florida’s three native species — black, white, and red — form the habitat neces- sary to preserve the life cycle of the estuaries that line the length of the Florida peninsula. Without them, Florida would quite pos- sibly be nothing more than a mere nub off the coast of Georgia. Mangrove Review is published annually in the spring. Mangrove Review will consider submissions of poetry, prose, and artwork from Florida Gulf Coast University students, alum- ni, faculty, staff, administrators, and the community at large. The reading period for submissions is from September 1 to November 30 of each year. Submission guidelines Submissions must be previously unpublished and accompa- nied by a short biography. Please do not put your name on the manuscript or file name. Instead, include a cover page with the title of your piece, your name, and contact information. Poetry Submit no more than five poems per reading period. Prose Submit up to four narratives, but no more than 10 total pages (3,000 words) typed and double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, for any one reading period. Art All artwork must be submitted as a high-resolution JPEG image, with the title of the artwork as file name. We will consider no more than five images by any one artist per reading period. Submit your materials to [email protected]. Copyright © 2017 by Mangrove Review No portion of Mangrove Review may be reproduced without permission. Mangrove Review Contents Poetry Bitter Melon Zoë Spanbroek .......................................................................................................... 9 Nonage Lance Lambert ........................................................................................................ 11 (you are safe here) Lance Lambert ........................................................................................................ 12 Nostalgia Teresa Scott .............................................................................................................. 13 To All the People I Have Loved Madison Walker ...................................................................................................... 14 You Emily Dolan ............................................................................................................ 16 Art Showcase After the Rain Iman Zekri ............................................................................................................... 17 High Times Carry the Low Allyson Clancy ........................................................................................................ 18 Mosaic Giraffe Lindsay Dawson ..................................................................................................... 20 In a Hostel in Spain Kayla Hoffman ........................................................................................................ 21 Female Mystique Kayla Hoffman ........................................................................................................ 22 Flutter Molly Creeger .......................................................................................................... 24 Not a Tourist Mark Massaro ......................................................................................................... 25 Prose The Snoozing Dog Rafael Cruz .............................................................................................................. 26 In the Black Forest Alex Neidrach ......................................................................................................... 28 Left Right Left Emily Dolan ............................................................................................................ 37 Fast but Never Moving Kayla Hoffman ........................................................................................................ 39 Right By Salem Mark Massaro ......................................................................................................... 42 Apple Wood Mark Massaro ......................................................................................................... 51 FGCU Writing Awards winners Poetry: Breaking Good Chandler Tarquino ................................................................................................. 63 Fiction: Performance Spaces Martha Brinkman ................................................................................................... 64 Creative Nonfiction: From City to Mountain — Day to Night Melissa Neubek ....................................................................................................... 75 Creative Nonfiction: Just a Number Zoë Spanbroek ........................................................................................................ 79 About the FGCU Writing Awards ....................................................... 83 About the Contributors ........................................................................ 84 MR Zoë Spanbroek Bitter Melon We are sitting in a white upstairs room: small lamp on the floor, Florida Panthers poster on the wall, Tai Chi forms also on the wall, and Chinese medicine balls- their distant chiming coming from her hands. These hands will soon ask to hold mine and then tell me how warm I am (and I will feel how cold they are). These hands will soon be picking weeds off of good backyard plants no matter how much they choke, no matter how much they entreat to be saved by the merit of their color. There is Spanish Needle drying gray in the sun, blind white flowers opening for everyone. Then Lemon Clover neither lucky nor Irish, three rounded leaves crowding grasses ‘til they perish. And finally Bitter Melon bloated orange and heavy, persistent thin tendrils making low trees unsteady. Now we are walking in a large backyard: departed pine cones on the grass, one Red Acacia growing into the air, Swamp Fern clusters also growing into the air, and Bitter Melon weeds- their sticky grasping stalks being torn away by her hands. These hands will soon age and be unable to feel mine for warmth 9 (and I will always miss how cold they were) These hands will soon show me how to pick bitter melon off of good backyard plants no matter how much it chokes, no matter how much it entreats to be saved by the merit of its color. 10 Lance Lambert Nonage Do you have any good stories from childhood? Can you tell me what it was like? Before you always washed your hands Before you learned to ride a bike Did you always have good manners Did you listen to alternative or pop Are you still in contact with old friends Were you always afraid of cops? 11 Lance Lambert (you are safe here) when you look up at the stars at night can you see my window? when you ride ride ride past on your bike can you see my window? when your parents kiss and hug or fight can you see my window? I want you to climb into it with the ladder from the garage (you are safe here) I want you to climb into it I want you can you see my window? 12 Teresa Scott Nostalgia Rust sprinkles the frame of that old swing set. Twice burned trees attempt to live, budding from the ground. Fences fall forward, kissing the green blades, with drowning lips. My hand catches on a splintered piece of shed. Where have they gone? Those faces that lit up this dilapidated yard. I see ghosts in the gazebo. Frigid faced, they whisper, “Get out while you can.” Turning to the paint I no longer know, childish dreams vanish. There’s no place here, for a blonde-haired, baby-doll girl. 13 Madison Walker To All the People I Have Loved i. Your eyes are twin solar eclipses that cast a shadow over common sense. ii. Sometimes I wonder if we could’ve been more than just great sex. iii. Prettier than pillow talk, with a wet velvet tongue, the last last kiss reminds me of Sundays and all of this damn rain. iv. We locked eyes at an intersection somewhere between Tennessee and Michigan. I watched your Volvo go in the opposite direction. 14 v. I hope you find salvation beyond what’s between thighs and other peoples’ lack of patience. vi. I’m sorry. I’m not here yet. I’m still trying to finish all of the poems I’ve started… 15 Emily Dolan Yo u High above the clouds