A sparkling liquid silver rod
gorgeous at the turn of a tap
except for those whose lives are
filled with an abundance of
miraculous things they no longer see.

.

Essential, except to those whose
lives are so secure and
provided for that the change in
price of gas at the pumps is
an affront to their existence as
they buy bottled water by
the costly gallon.

.

A right to those who live lives
as boot-on-the-neck victims of
water stolen from their
rippling back yards and
sold to the dry city down
the road leaving them with
soiled dregs they can neither
drink, nor bathe in.

.

A weapon to those whose lives are
built on the backs of the poorly
unseen hoards toiling
to make them rich, in
countries far off with
out rods of gorgeous
silver pouring out; but with
locks on the doors their dreams of
wealth, health and freedom and
the keys thrown away.

Her neck nods, then halts, catching herself from sleep
on the couch, like when she’d come home from work
while we were under her roof

.

I feel like I need to fix something
Blue light flickers into the wrinkles of her sixties,
into her cheeks and eyes

.

Or that I failed somehow
I feel bad you guys aren’t friends
And now she takes misguided grandchildren

.

prays for them to iron out and keep straight
their young souls, which my oldest brother wasn’t
taught how to mold. So she tucks them in sleeping bags

.

and takes them to church, and does the old job
that three-verse number of hers
and one day they still strangle a cat

.

or kill one in the dryer when nobody’s looking
or run away from home
or sneak out of the detergent aisle to be alive elsewhere

.

but she knows it is an eternal role
her Earthly purpose, to be mother and half father:
to love unconditionally and to scrutinize

.

a lack of common sense
to make us tough and sweet like the Fraser
fir-shaped sand tarts she bakes at Christmas

.

You didn’t fail us, I say, picturing Dad’s nest of tools,
all the work he’s done for his collection of transistor radios
You had to be more than you when Dad gave up…

.

We’re friends, I assure. Just different people.

.

Yeah, she says. Dad does seem like that.
But he’s so proud of you.

She wore her beauty lightly,
moved gently, softly through the world,
left a trail of enamored men behind,
men dazed, frozen in the cool
light of her gaze.
She meant no harm, gave no offense,
with no malice of intent.
When he first saw her,
he wasn’t blinded, not right away,
he was not like the others,
not so easily charmed,
but soon it hit him, deeply,
into the essence of his own soul.
Yet in his new blindness
he could see within her, within,
to the light that shone brighter yet,
the overwhelming light of her
beauty, within, without,
it swept over him, consumed him,
drove him half mad, weakened him
and like all those before,
left him behind, behind and
alone, surrounded by the ghosts
of the many who had come before.

We opened this project with clear and concise expectations
on what love and war is. Thank you for smashing them! In each piece
you have expanded the way we think about ourselves, each other,
technology, and the world around us. You have made this edition an
honor to compose.

Thank you,

The Hedge Apple Team

As the writing submissions have already concluded, it is bittersweet that art submissions close tonight. I want to say thank you. Thank you for letting us into your minds, hearts, and lives with your amazing work. We are honored that you have reached out to share this part of yourself with us. Thank you, not just for your submissions, but for your time and trust. We will be sending out emails in the near future and it is our hope to work with you again in November 2023.

My name is Naomi! I am this year’s editor. I am very excited to be trusted with this edition. I know that I will be getting to know all of you through the pieces that you submit. If you are curious to get to know me and have a little peak behind the literary curtain, you should follow me on TikTok. This month I will be posting a lot of content that includes motivation for writing, encouragement for submitting, and a bit about all the fun that makes this position magical. If you don’t have a TikTok, don’t worry, I will also be posting on here and our official Facebook account.