“When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city.” —Italo Calvino Desires, according to Calvino, are already memories. This is a way of saying that language is a fist of snakes, that it is too late for remorse if you are watching another invisible city burn. My throat is a thing of contradiction: too many unoiled syllables collecting into sharpness. The autumn of my birth, my mother tells me, You must know this— your name means harvest. And so another city is raised on quiet prayer, heads bowed, drinking spools of smoke and river water. Desires, according to my mother, are best left unspoken, unheard. And yet she cracks open the back of a snow crab, splits its bright body into shards, leaves the redness on my plate. This is a way of saying there is no way to know which body is yours, whose home is burning. Desires, according to nobody in particular, are gray, finicky things, things to be worn and then returned. In the same way, I imagine my mother’s past self— the quiet line of her mouth, the softness of her lies. My name has always meant drought.
Elane Kim is a student whose writing has been recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Narrative Magazine, and Bow Seat, among others. The editor-in-chief of Gaia Lit, she enjoys going on runs, exploring nature, and lime skittles. She is very happy to meet you.
Featured Artwork:
Miami Docks
Timothy F. Phillips’ art is that of a naive artist with a splash of realism. Occasionally he frames his vision of the artwork with bright foliage through which the skies glimmer and the moon glows in an evening hue. In a careful analysis of Timothy’s paintings, one of the first things we notice is that his subjects are a little slanted or off-tilt. Timothy works with feelings, emotions, and imagination. These are all qualities and principle ingredients in the creation of The Art Of Life With A Splash Of Reality where the spirit will always prevail and art is first and foremost an expression of his own faith in his abilities to create simple beauty with a complex style.