things that make my heart go '!!!' – part 1 (of many)

Issue 9

• the smell of a freshly peeled orange
• everything about Rosie’s Cantina in downtown
• watching videos of chunky cats on TikTok
• anything having to do with Snoopy
• surprise discounts at the local thrift
• bread (non-discriminatory)
• the color green
• the soul in his eyes that peers into my very own, never once asking me to apologize or to be less.
  • (see also: he sees me the way i want to be seen.)

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RIEL FUQUA won 1st Place of the Poetry Writing Contest. They are a creative artist of many trades, each of them centering around the communicative art of storytelling. Much of Riel’s work focuses on the mosaic of experiences they have had as a Black, queer person residing in the deep south, including navigating interpersonal relationships, sentiments both big and small, childhood memories, the nostalgia for a reality before COVID-19, and the zest of Black, non-binary joy.

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