Poetry, Fiction, & Nonfiction Associates Southeast Review , Vol. 44.1 Babatunde ADIGUN Jenna Albergo Madeline Allen John Brown Ann Chiodo Paul Codner Clarke Crockett Chinelo Eneh Ryan Hunke Matthew Kasper Angela Llovet Rachel McDonnell Waseem Rashid Nicholas Stovel Jamie Walters Sydney Wills

This Is the Way I Grew Up Back then you have no idea condoms could have some secret uses. In your neighborhood, all of you boys know how to use them though. They are just fine clear balloons. Phokna . Raja brand. The cheapest and the most popular. Each square silver pack shines with the elegant image of a king’s bust. With an unmistakable crown. A king of spades. The silent kings on small pouches proudly hang in rows, in abundance, in every corner store and kiosk. Even at tea stalls. You...

Poem in which I keep saying a word I'm not allowed to say not to be a jerk, but to be honest about the elephant in this life, which is a poem stuffed with ocean and sky and beating heart—oh, that word, troubled as a heart itself so often is. This heart breaks its vow of silence, rips off its veil, jumps the cloister wall, and runs into the open field blanketed in sunrise. This heart stretches its lungs and sets free the cry of a hatchling for a mouthful of worms. Parrots are cracking sugar in...