In returning to Sentience for Issue Two, the editors wanted to create a bookend to the “Isolation” of Issue One. In part, this is because Sentience began as a pandemic project, conceived as a way to keep story and language moving in a time of palpable disconnection, an extension of workshopping from a distance and… Read More Seeking ‘Connections’
“I can’t control the wind but I can adjust the sail” –Ricky Skaggs Poor visibility on the slopes. We may want to descend while we can, if the weather holds and we are still ourselves, or nearly the several someones we started out as, who haven’t changed a bit. Well, a little bit. A bit… Read More “The Ends” by Caley O’Dwyer
I was doing several things on a regular basis. Finally, I woke up fascinated to a gurney, diagnosed with “fears, doubt, dread, lies,” and a bump on the head. I felt delighted, light as hair. Although I would no longer be the host of a network talk show, I knew the meaning of life, at… Read More “The Desire Line” by Caley O’Dwyer
I began to wonder if the sparking coupons could be redeemed. Much as Will and Holly lost their father through the door of time, had the source codes gone bad? the solid-state devices through which we’d been transmitted collapsed in a surge of current too gracious to bear? I could smell someone’s hair burning as… Read More “Land of the Lost” by Caley O’Dwyer
The first thing my sister said when I opened the door was: “God, your flat is a mess.” It almost certainly was, compared to hers. Pina lived in a loft with big windows. She stepped over my scattered clothes, flung the curtains open, and sat on the edge of the sofa. I asked if she… Read More “Scented Product” by Daniele Zurbruegg
Take it hour by hour Lay your head on my lap Rest Vignettes of countryside race by Under the constant hum of train tracks Reassuring us to move forwards Towards each other Taking it hour by hour I focus on the rhythm of your breath Against the percussion of my heart Healing slowly every second… Read More “You send me (my fingers exploring the waves of your hair, dampened by the heat)” by Emerald Liu
Cluster of rain spheres adorn leaves layered over each other, their collective shape an omentum covering offering protection the way an arch offers support the way your hand over my hand signals care the comfort touch brings its reassurance flows within us unwitnessed domestic habits and conversations set across time zones can’t be fossilized but… Read More “Genealogy” by Emerald Liu
Зелень деревьев, синева реки, красный цвет земли. Рисунок полон красок. Но на листе бумаги больше ничего не видно. Я теряю рассудок и теряю безумие. Все покрыто пеплом. Больше не о чем думать. Время для меня больше не существует, потому я много раз я был мертв, и никогда я не был воскрес. The green of the… Read More “The Green of the Trees” by Ivan de Monbrison
В городе много шума. Автобусы, машины, велосипеды, прохожие, дураки или умные люди. Мы покупаем, продаем, даем, берем. В городе ничего не реальный. Зима близко , лето только следы. Как рождение бежит от смерти, и молчание бежит от речи. There is a lot of noise in the city. Buses, cars, bicycles, passers-by, fools or smart people.… Read More “There is a Lot of Noise in the City” by Ivan de Monbrison
I drink tea from our old Trader Joe’s minced garlic jar, you from the blue mug we bought together downtown. Like a prayer, I hold the jar tight in my hand, hot and urgent. On a Monday, I walk to our apartment in my new beige shoes, bags of fresh produce weighing me down. I… Read More “Jar” by Manal Ahmed
Sentience Literary Journal 