SEA OF DESPOND

by Felicia Nimue Ackerman

Israel clears final hurdle to start settlement construction that would cut the West Bank in two. —PBS, January 6, 2026. In the video above from four months ago, Israeli minister Smotrich explains the plan.

From the river to the sea,

Palestine won't come to be.

Bibi's stance is very clear:

Arabs aren't welcome here.

Felicia Nimue Ackerman is a professor of philosophy at Brown University and has around 360 poems in places including American Atheist, The American Scholar, Better Than Starbucks, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Down in the Dirt, The Emily Dickinson International Society Bulletin, Free Inquiry, Light Poetry Magazine, and Lighten Up Online.. She has also had fourteen previous poems in The New Verse News.

A FRIEND BREAKS HIS RENAISSANCE SWORD ON A PAPAYA

by Kristina England

Any fruit can hide the fierceness of its rinds.
We should never believe the weapon invincible.

Record low temperatures today, risk of frostbite,
hard wind claps bathroom vents.
It's like they're cheering on the cold.

President of United States accuses former president
of wire tapping, calls him "sick," then berates
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Twitter
for being a "pathetic" reality show host.

Brain hurting from malnutrition,
I reorganize the living room two times,
split myself in half, one part here,
one part looking back at what we had.

Sometimes the chance of turning
to salt is more rewarding
than the alternative.


Kristina England resides in Worcester, Massachusetts.  Her writing has been published in several magazines, including Gargoyle, Silver Birch Press, and Tipton Poetry Journal.