A collection of all the poetry in the sixth edition of “The Parlay” literary magazine.
Poetry
Artemis Bottarini
Author Bio:
Artemis Bottarini (she/her) is a novelist attending FLC for personal enrichment. She is currently querying for her first novel, City of Dragon's Teeth, and loves writing whatever comes into her head at the moment. She is permitted to live in her apartment by her cats, Char and Amuro, and enjoys building plastic models in her spare time. You can find more of her works at https://abottarini.com
A Poem About Making Poems
Mechanical pencil scratches on blank paper
The barest outlines of a dreadful drama appear
These ideas have been hovering in my head for days
Fleeting fragments that only appear when when I’m busy
I have to snatch them from the ether when I can
Captured, pinned to the page like insects in a collection
Eren Bussard
Author Bio:
Eren Bussard (they/them) is a student at Arizona State University. They are in the process of completing their coursework to earn a bachelor’s degree in English. Eren has a deep passion for writing and is currently working on their first novel. In their downtime, they are usually found watching anime, socializing with friends, or working on new stories. Eren’s delighted to be the embedded tutor of the sixth edition The Parlay and cannot wait for future editions.
bunny ears
My first fist fight wasn’t fists at all.
Just words thrown like rocks,
and the sound of something inside me
cracking.
No bruises.
Just silence that swelled
like a black eye.
Pam Eskildsen
Author Bio:
Pam Eskildsen was born at the half century, 1950, in San Francisco, California on New Year's Eve. Her main endeavors were mainly in the math and sciences, receiving her B.S. in mathematics at Stanford. It wasn't until she married her love of her life, Steve, and saw their own four children grow into young adults, that she decided to try her hand at Chinese Brush Painting. Having never taken any prior art classes, this was certainly a brand new revelation...A new world discovered...such an enriching experience! Twenty years and eleven grandchildren later, she's still taking Brush Painting at the Folsom Senior Center! She also is an avid ukulele player, sews, crochets, and loves to read in her spare time!
hippo
Big, big hippo, lying in the sun
Too hot! Too hot! Go swim and have some fun!
In the mud, in the mud, wallow 'round and 'round
Nice and cool, oh so cool, how does that sound?
Sheryl French
Author Bio:
Sheryl French is a local Sacramento contemporary artist. She is inspired by the complexities and challenges of everyday life and translates them into visual art. Sheryl often writes humorous poetry to accompany her artwork. Sheryl exhibits monthly and actively supports arts education. Portfolio- sherylfrenchart.com
There’s a Hare in My Soup
In a plain white bowl of tomato-red routine,
a hare checks in like it’s a spa day scene—
elbows on porcelain, toes in the heat,
a spoon standing by as if this were normal to eat.
John Helmar
Author Bio:
John Helmar is a simple soul who is often described as the "town character." He watches a lot of TV: Bugs Bunny cartoons, where he defiantly roots for Elmer Fudd; and news programs, where he annoys his wife by yelling at political commentators and meteorologists. Also, he thoughtlessly flies kites, swings on swings, eats gramma's cookies, and hikes to fanciful ponds filled with minnows and damselflies, just for the heck of it - and nothing else. Finally, he enjoys the soothing, soulful song-stylings of his favorite recording artist - Vitas.
Prior to the Crime Scene
I desire not to rub my lady's feet.
Her calloused hooves disgust me to no end.
If I refuse, my crown with club she'll beat.
And so, unto her wish, I’ll surely bend.
My Pasture
A peaceful vision this lovely pasture of mine.
Wide meadows in all directions for me to roam.
Sweet grass and cool water abound on which to dine.
In mild spring I call this, my pasture, home.
We built this farm together, my master and I.
Daniel James
Author Bio:
Daniel James (they/them) is currently at FLC as a returning student, having earned their BA in Creative Writing and MFA in Book Art from Mills College. They are a novelist by trade, with two titles published through Tapas Entertainment: Respectfully Yours, and How (Not) to Save the Multiverse. In their spare time, they enjoy rebinding books, printmaking, and letting their cat, Chidi, boss them around.
Ghost of a Memory
Deep in the past there is something
No one can reach out to touch
It runs on its own timeline
Coated in rain
A calendar dipped in galaxies
Fading into dust
Graduation
The rain falls like bubbles
Popping against my skin
I open myself up to the cleansing
Soaking into bones
Drenching draping fabric
Creating a nest in my hair
Mason Mays
Author Bio:
Mason Mays is a twenty-year-old aspiring English Professor and Writer. They were born in Sacramento, California and currently reside in Seattle, Washington with their girlfriend. They have always had a deep love for storytelling and poetry. They are currently waiting to return to college at The University of Washington to continue their education.
Artist Statement for Those of Providence:
Inspired by the incredible people I get to meet everyday on my commute who manage to be simply out of their minds in the most beautiful ways despite all the tangent signals floating around.
Artist Statement for Dying on a Cloud (But At Least):
Inspired both by the lyrics of a short and sweet song named 25 к 10 by a Russian band named Aquarium, and a story one of my English Professors, Professor Danner, told about how she has yet to have a day where she wasn't happy at least once.
Those of Providence
So it whisks away the masses today.
Turning over corners for the cool heads that hang—
faced towards the floor at their portable aerial arrays.
But all those signals crashing, calling and being arranged,
are a myriad of disjointed simulacrum faces.
Dying on a Cloud (But At Least)
Ants carrying cigarette buds
But at least we have ants at all
A crowd crushed by a rockslide judge
We can fly, by god, can we fall
Dylan Neves
Author Bio:
Dylan Neves is a high school senior at Ponderosa, who plans to major in English Literature at CSU San Marcos this fall. She is a fond reader of prose and almost anything to do with Classic Literature. Her favorite authors are Oscar Wilde, Helene Tursten, and R.L. Stevenson.
On Mortality
On that fateful morning,
A car will swerve out of the way of a small deer.
Both driver and beast breathe a sigh of relief,
And see the world a little bit brighter for the rest of the day.
M. Shahid
Author Bio:
M. Shahid is an emerging poet. As a queer, South Asian, and neurodivergent poet, their writing is informed by their intersectionality. They studied Women and Gender Studies at Sacramento State University.
wind back
in my head i see it form
chrysanthemum language and
an invention from a headhigh
i was underinfluenced in the mornings
and smoke free for eight sloth days
River Stinnetti
Author Bio:
River Stinnetti is a 20 year old Psychology major with a long time passion for creative writing and specifically poetry. They have a strong interest in understanding human behavior and emotional development, especially in children. By writing poetry and prose, they can make more sense of a chaotic world and easier process the more complex emotions, organizing thoughts unable to be verbally communicated.
Artist Statement for Pinky Promises and Frozen Popsicles:
Growing up means awareness of things like money, dishonesty, fractured relationships; and smallness means mercy. As children, we aren’t supposed to be responsible for much. No emotional debt. No heavy knowledge. No bruised pride. This poem was meant to suggest that what we miss most about childhood isn’t toys or games, but the safety of believing the world is fundamentally good and flexible. It portrays feelings of grief and generally the loss of simplicity, asking whether or not growing up had to cost so much softness.
Pinky Promises & Frozen Popsicles
Take me back to when I was small.
Small enough for the bathtub
to feel like an ocean,
for the hallway light left on at night
to be proof the world is kind.
Jack Weber
Author Bio:
Jack Weber grew up in El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park, graduating from Ponderosa High School in May of 2024. He currently studies geoscience at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and is a published author.
The Mind-Bus
my mind is at a train station, waiting to board a train that will never arrive.
that's because my mind thinks it's waiting for a bus.
“that's odd. this bus arrives on train tracks” it says. why does it say that?
you'd think the mind, being so mindful, would mind the tracks, and oh,
i don't know,
think?
Laura Willis
Author Bio:
Laura Willis has been doing art forms and looked for a world that was kind and beautiful. Through their writing, painting and other art forms they hope to let you see that there is hope for a loving, compassionate, and caring world. Laura has found safety at FLC and a strong art community with amazing students and professors. They are grateful for having the opportunity to experience life through a new lens.
Untitled
Is a prophet ever honored in his own land?
Is a prophetess honored anywhere?
Does anyone hear her wisdom or is she casting pearls before swines.
Why speak at all fallen unto deaf ears
Knowledge for another lifetime?