the peonies
are perfect
little purple
pirates.
I cut a cord
that’s a contract of chaos.
anything can be a portal-
a nest of sleeping
pterodactyls, a dazzle of drug
induced shame, pink
pearls pressed into a pussy.
please.
and Yes.
anyway. I
am awake.
and cutting cords with saffron
swords set afire.
happy tuesday
says a kid’s mom.
I am trying to evolve, I say, frowning in the light.
ah. there. suddenly I am luminous again.

Contributor Notes

Described by the San Francisco Book Review as “a force to be reckoned with in literary circles,” Shabnam Piryaei is an award-winning poet, filmmaker, and artist. She’s written four books: all children. (Diode Editions, 2024), Nothing is Wasted (The Operating System, 2017), Forward (Museum Books, 2014) and Ode to Fragile (Plain View Press, 2010). She’s written and directed films that have screened at film festivals, art galleries, and public installations around the world. Her documentary film No Separate Survival won Best Documentary Film from San Diego Film Week. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and teaches at San Francisco State University. She is the founder and curator of the online art and interview journal MUSEUM, and the founder of Feather Portal Healing. Her art has been exhibited at the Unlike Art Gallery, Elysium Art Gallery, New Gallery London, Youyou Gallery, Jotta, Galleria Perelà, Kala Art Institute, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. You can experience more of her work at www.shabnampiryaei.com. She wants everyone to be, and to feel, free.