This piece represents what it’s like to live with semi-strick parents, even despite being a legal adult, and having your ‘wings’ that will take you places, it’s like the important feather’s of the wings used to fly are built with toothpicks. Yes, they’ll still work, but you won’t get as far as others who don’t have the ‘Toothpick feathers’. You may fix or rebuild them time and time again, but they’ll never get you to where you need or want to be. It also feels like your being silenced when trying to talk about something you know, and they decide that you don’t know about it, and they “know better because their older”. 

Living with semi-strick parents is like having the ability and the equipment to fly, but the piece’s that will get you places, are damaged and have been replaced with toothpicks.

• Silver Matheson

There are a million eyes when I walk into the walk into the room.
These aren’t eyes of admiration, love or respect.
These are eyes of hatred, disgust, and anger.
When these eyes are on me I feel under surveillance, being watched by every eye and corner.
I can’t escape these eyes.
No matter where I go.
No one understands the drain these eyes bring you or how your internalize these stares.
This is considered the norm for you.
“Just ignore it” “It’s nothing about you” You’ve never felt the presence of these eyes.
You have no idea how these eyes affect you.
It’s so easy to brush it off when you’ve never been under surveillance for being you.
These eyes that follow me, they never fail

• Imani Hudson