The poet Charles Bukowski said “I don’t know about other people, but when I wake up in the morning and put my shoes on, I think, Jesus Christ, what now?” […]
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I’ll start with what we most want you to hear: We’re still taking submissions. You’ll recall that a little over a year ago now, we went on hiatus from regular […]
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It’s autumn now. The leaves are carrying quiet dust on their surfaces. Northern winds puff and relieve your skin from the unforgiving sun. Soon there will come winter. It will […]
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Darling, listen. no matter what we do our fingers will end up blistered, our palms bloody if we look into the mirror long enough to know anything, if we pull […]
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Someone would love to have you for a daughter; Wouldn’t mind you in the attic, stealing their things. The walls would be yours, as would your body And four […]
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Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Gerardeen Santiago is a poet and publisher I originally met at Glassless Minds in Oceanside. When the Metaworker staff was suggesting new people to interview, she was at […]
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Every year, from the first I was assigned to the graveyard, I would watch the headstones from my place upon the highest pine tree. My job was to make sure […]
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The fog was making whispering sounds It was rising up from the earth Like spirits from the past I spit dust from my mouth Just to prove I’m a […]
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She camouflaged herself at a darkened far table, idled away time by tapping a spoon against her drink glass; on the opposite side of the hall, similarly nervous and […]
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A very pretty girl wears the same brown clogs every day sometimes. Between all the rain-soaked steps we took and the part where she left, she joked, “These are my […]
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We sit on the precipice of Heaven and pollution; you hand Me an empty box and promise Desultory protection. Our bodies, superimposed From two different tangles of lake water […]
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Obsidian, black, but when held up to light it is semi-transparent. Also known as Apache Tears. Roughly circular in shape, about half an inch by half an inch. Received by […]
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Yesterday you were five foot ten and today your toes don’t touch the base of the bed. You cocoon yourself deeper into the blankets, stuffing your face into fluff and […]
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absent of pearls in a grand ocean mollusk crying self righteousness without salty tears seeking to find truth in an unrelenting fervor see the dark drift in during a twilight […]
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Sometimes I like to reimagine religion and the stories I was told as a child, so that it fits the way I understand the world now. I tell myself it […]
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I only ever wrote to be close to you. You didn’t exist. I knew that. But it didn’t matter when I could create words that would conjure you. And someday, […]
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I lost my heart last night. It must have happened in my sleep. I didn’t notice at first, but when I looked in the mirror this morning I saw the […]
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If I were to outlive you, I would feel the poet in me blackening, nails pulling in like a sea of petals in the mouth at the end of the […]
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The letter I wrote Lilly first thing after I found out talks to her in the present tense, like she still exists, because she does still exist for me, or […]
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Every morning I look in the mirror and hope for a different reflection. The problem with makeup is that it doesn’t cover every scar. And I’ve got a lot of […]
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I reveal the parts I want you to see you think you know me masquerade ugly thoughts inside my head mourning at the side of a haunted bed empty womb […]
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I hold the moon like a baby in my arms. If I let it go, it will fall. The light of the night will die. Out of the corner of […]
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The doctor’s handsome and that makes it worse… more bad news from the lips of handsome men. We need more tests, he says. Well no lover ever put it in […]
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Hypertension: Each bus line a grime-filled artery, Each soup line snaking concrete corners, slithering in human filth like wet soil, wet and thick and fast like noseblood; Each […]
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What I’m saying right now is meaningless – because a word spoken alone is a word spoken in vain. Like a tree falling in an empty forest, I may as […]
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Let’s make this a pissing contest. Place your bet with mine. I’m bound to win if winning means a longer yellow line. ‘Cause yellow’s the color of smiley faces, Daffodils […]
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I opened my eyes, emerging from a dream but couldn’t remember anything at all. Shame really because I’d always considered dream space a bit like going to the cinema without […]
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I don’t think in Bengali, I think it is just one of those things that fold my body the way my grandfather used to. At least that’s what my mother […]
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“He laid his head in my palms And I watched as he grew a garden of roses Across a dying field. He had the power to entrap me in flesh […]
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1 My grandfather lived next to two wheat farmers. I secretly wished my grandfather was a wheat farmer. I would bicycle along the edge of their fields, picking stalks that […]
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Writing isn’t only for novelists or poets. Screenwriters are writers, too! Below is an excerpt from the script of the upcoming web-series called Hypervision, which is about four friends who embark […]
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Writing isn’t only for novelists or poets. Screenwriters are writers, too! Below is an interview with Steven Jay, the writer and creator of an upcoming web-series called Hypervision, which is […]
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Catacombs and catastrophe fill my head. I cannot sleep. We end up going for a drive. The car pushes past streetlights and traffic stops— little by little the comfort of […]
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I’ve spent the last two years trying to figure out how to pull this trigger finger from my mouth and blast the sour blackness out into the sunshine. I had been […]
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And The Metaworker is locked down through the end of 2016. Thank you to everyone who’s kept submitting, and especially to everyone who’s kept reading. But wait, there’s more! We’ve […]
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I. I jump at the slightest touch on my cracked back. Fierce mountain wind rushes around me. My ears, too long and pointy. A cold hand on my forehead makes […]
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portuguese lyric lilt xe’s, lifting ocean inflection lifted south american toneflexing a talker’s tongue one ganders in psychadelic wonder when they codeswitch– one is jealous my rudimentary spanish gives nothing, […]
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A blank is waiting to get painted, a bank shimmers with slimes and silt. I have waited for you; liquid caresses, and the kisses of ether, and fires of cloud. […]
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Wait until your mother and brother have left the house. Then, call him. Four oh eight, five five five, seven three eight oh. You’ve had the number memorized since he […]
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Madeline loves it And sits as Mother would. The priest is like her Father Dressed all in grey, Palms fluttering with Paper clowns, Legs and arms spinning anti-clockwise Like the […]
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She reads new poetry in old settings, antique store turned coffee house, dressed in black sweater, skirt and stockings, perched on the edge of a table. a lotus sipping coffee […]
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We have a new prompt for Writing on the Wall! The rules are the same: we post the prompt, and YOU, in 100 words or less, can write a response […]
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To be man means to reach toward being God. Or, if you prefer, man fundamentally is the desire to be God. Jean-Paul Sartre I am a prisoner, wrongfully […]
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This one’s a very special post. We’re presenting to you the work of the highly accomplished Albanian Poet Irsa Ruçi, both translated, and in its original language. Irsa Ruçi […]
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Success is a function of desire when I was younger it evolved into an adrenaline addiction Instead of running from death I decided to chase it and ultimately set the […]
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I’m always finding myself writing about fire Maybe because I always got so much to burn maybe cause I’m a fire sign it’s easy because I smell a hint of […]
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We have a new prompt for Writing on the Wall! The rules are the same: we post the prompt, and YOU, in 100 words or less, can write a response […]
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Rachelle Pinnow is also a professional geologist and a part-time writer. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s creative writing program, her short stories and poetry have been published in […]
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Dude driving, dude driving vast expanses, dude fucking up on the GPS, dude asking for directions, dude getting off on the right off-ramp and hitting the ocean after three blocks. Dude making […]
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Too bad there’s no internet cake. It’s a year later, and we didn’t think we’d last a year. Q: You didn’t? A: No. We really didn’t. I had a big, […]
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Reason for waking, lofty faded dreams soft steps in grass eyes raised skyward Brisk breeze blows wind swirls on water geese march in air reality softly fades. Flame tip to […]
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Hello, everyone! It’s Friday again and we’ve got another extra thing to share. When we were all talking, we realized we’ve all shared some of our writing on this blog […]
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I joined the most well-adjusted band in America. My fault for believing. After twenty days and twenty nights I lost my lease on life with them. From them on, […]
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To celebrate the release of her debut novel, we are pleased to present an interview with Alex Clare, author of He’s Gone. Read an excerpt from Chapter Two of He’s […]
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I used to think girl meant pink meant birthday cake roses wilting for safety & always use your inside voice but sometimes it means shout and they will still ignore […]
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We at The Metaworker are excited to bring you something a little different this Friday. We’ve been given the opportunity to work with Impress Books, an independent publisher in the […]
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From now on, Writing on the Wall will be monthly, but the rules are the same: we give you a prompt, and you write a response in the comments where everyone […]
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Into the infinite void where spaciousness calls out with a silent vibrating hum. Vibrant electricity gets shocked and magnetized by polar extremes to find coordinated balance at a […]
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Rachelle Pinnow is also a professional geologist and a part-time writer. A graduate of the University of Calgary’s creative writing program, her short stories and poetry have been published in […]
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You can cage me in fireworks But I won’t wither from entropy I was once resilient to the loss Or maybe I just absorb it now Like those sun panels […]
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Hello! Matthew here with another announcement! And this is one I’ve been waiting for. Those of you who have been reading our about us will have already noticed this, but we’ve […]
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Addison Namnoum and The Metaworker Editorial Staff would like to dedicate this poem to the victims of the Orlando shooting, and to their friends, families, and lovers. This is a […]
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I don’t know how long we were up on that hillside, just Paul and me. We sat in a shallow trench, bundled up against the blowing snow and […]
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Howdy ho ladies and gents! Writing on The Wall is now entering its second phase, and we have a user-submitted prompt for you all. This time, we want to emphasize […]
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I ask carbon, what does it feel like to be backbone? To have multiple arms? To be mother to all of me. Mother to all of them? She says, […]
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Hey, you may have been looking for another Writing on the Wall post, or not. But, you know, it is Wednesday, and we’ve been doing this for a few weeks […]
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I don’t want that smart bomb sort of love, that painless thing all beset with clang of rust knife, mouse click, screen swipe, before you meet to touch. I wish […]
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This is Writing on the Wall – a discussion page where you can show us your writing! This week, we invite you, in 100 words or less, to post your […]
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There is something he forgot Something he had do to today He stands in the driveway Next to the black BMW Taps his foot on the cracked cement Next […]
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This is Writing on the Wall – a discussion page where you can show us your writing! This week, we invite you, in 100 words or less, to post your […]
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Diamond shimmers within sand, an ardor in the moon’s brightness; a whisper. Stealing of devoted memories cast one’s heart off into eternity; the promissory. Talking of love and deep passions, […]
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This is Writing on the Wall – a discussion page where you can show us your writing! This week, we invite you, in 100 words or less, to post your […]
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Tom Blethen faced two fifty foot rows of potatoes. He looked up at the December sky. It had rained, the field was all muddy, and it was going to rain again. […]
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This is Writing on the Wall – a discussion page where you can show us your writing! This week, we invite you, in 100 words or less, to post your […]
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Late night insomnia in la ciudad that never sleeps is a gift. I slip between the dusk, waltzing weaving between hum of streetlamp. Twirling in shadows and embellishing myself in […]
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This is Writing on the Wall – a discussion page where you can show us your writing! This week, we invite you, in 100 words or less, to post your […]
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Is it a cricket, a refugee, chirping behind solid bars? Rub the legs, hope to see, there is nothing in the darkness. Close the eyes, look closer at the fate, […]
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Seep Thought like a torrent of water Seep- drip, drip, drip. Each mould to old ideas that drip into a now opened mind. In this sea I bathe […]
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Well it’s about damn time, and here we are. We, at the Metaworker, hope you were impatiently waiting. Because we, at the Metaworker, were impatiently waiting to unveil our brand […]
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I have seven alarm clocks programed on my smartphone Which I place under my pillow at night Seven alarm clocks that are set 5 minutes apart Starting at 5:55 in […]
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Michael Schmitt is the man behind Ruthless Hippies, organizing poetry readings and music events in Encinitas and North San Diego County. I met up with him at a Charles Bukowski […]
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What sort of subjects/genres do you like to write about and why? MARINA: I’m a big proponent of mixing genres, so everything and anything is fair game in terms of […]
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JEAN BARKER left a successful writing career as a journalist and humor columnist in South Africa to pursue her long-delayed dream of becoming a filmmaker in the USA. Her master’s thesis […]
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Read our previous post for more details, but to sum it up: For the Month of March, we won’t be publishing your submissions (keep sending them, though!) We’re focusing on updating ourselves […]
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Happy Leap Year, everyone. And I have an announcement for you all. I wanted to start with: I can’t believe we’re still a thing. Literary magazines aren’t easy. Usually, they’re […]
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Every night I’ve lain awake with baited breath. Shadows flash across the ceiling as cars pass by the window. There is a woman out there, I know it, hissing at […]
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The reason I write is a simple one: I’ve always done it, and I can’t imagine living my life without writing. When I think about writing, I cannot honestly say […]
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Lightning strikes like the silhouette of the city and for a moment, the air blisters with Saint Elmo’s fire over the Arby’s sign. The pitch black sky thunders like […]
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I am getting off the school bus at the top of the driveway in the afternoon on a Friday. In real life, there were only two years where my parents […]
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So I’m sittin’ in the lunchroom of the factory one day, chattin’ up the new gal. She was a secretary. Name of Suzie. Only been there like two weeks. We […]
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Sit up straight, feet flat, pen poised – ready? Now don’t think, just write what comes to mind. Don’t pick up your pen, just keep writing. I’m going to time […]
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How am I fitting in this right now? It’s been years, centuries since I was small enough to terrorize villages and miniature pedestrians in this mighty blue vehicle. It has […]
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Torrin Greathouse is a Literary Journalism student and governing member of the Uncultivated Rabbits spoken word collective at UC Irvine. They were the 2015 winner of the Orange County Poetry […]
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I want to address something that, in hindsight, should have been brought up before. We’ve posted a few editorials about the process of writing, but it occurs to me that […]
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It occurred to me the other day that I don’t know your name even though you wear a name tag. I never even bothered to look at it. I think […]
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I was five years old when I first kissed a girl. Her name was Juliana and it happened during my kindergarten recess, on the sand playground. Juliana was a redhead […]
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Wait, it isn’t Monday! Yeah, well I’m about to drop some news on you suckas. It fits pretty solidly into the good news/bad news/okay news category. Let’s go in the […]
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Without Roots Without Roots this Ikea bed supports me just about as well as a twig supports a tree house Glue sticks Paper thin is the stuff of life; each […]
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How to Become a Professional Writer (And Get Paid Too) It sounds like a headline too good to be true, right? Finding a good writing gig is already difficult, not […]
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She wanders through the streets past midnight. They assume it’s too dangerous for her. It isn’t because anyone who would harm her is asleep. She, on the other hand, is […]
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