BY MATTHEW DRAUGHTER (“EYED SPIRAL” BY EMANUELA IORGA)
Exodus 14: 21-22
pre-eviction: often chronic snow
and wind swooning down
from the darkest moon.
land stolen by man stolen
by man
no milk or honey here, only lights
as snow and roads iced in stars from legends
passed, pushed down, and pulled up from the sea
before the final exit ground to sea
foot to ground paved through the cosmos
of my ancestors, unwinding
here. where water can’t last long
enough to liquid and break back
the memories of you, beating till bound
pre-eviction often looks like promised
lands. no milk or honey here. only boys billowing
buoyantly through clouds, dancing like David danced.
Matthew Draughter is a poet and producer, born and raised in New Orleans. Through living in Paris, Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland he has explored the world through travel, and uses those experiences to create poetry and short films to bond communities together. His poems have been featured in the American Poetry Review, HAÜS Magazine, Color Bloq, and now, Cotton Xenomorph, spanning topics of race, sexuality, addiction, and masculinity through a queer, afro-centric lens
Emanuela Iorga is a filmmaker, artist, and screenwriter, who lives in Chisinau, Moldova. Art represents for her a recently rediscovered passion, following a series of world and inner changes. She was previously published in Jet Fuel Review, Beyond Words and Please See Me. Her work can also be found at https://manolcaincosmos.wordpress.com/270