Morula and I seek what little shade there is under a bare Motsheketsane tree (Mot-sheh-key-saw-knee) — its branches interwoven like a dancer’s arms caught in a multiple exposure, reaching into a chalk-blue sky. Sweat trickles down my neck as I melt and droop. I take sips from my water bottle. Morula searches for leftover seeds. … Read More “Mastodons, Mammoths, and Morula” by Cheryl Merrill
When the Sentience crew began the journey to publishing the “Isolation” issue in the Summer of 2020, I’m not sure any of us knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into, despite having worked on other lit mags before. At the time, we tentatively floated the idea amongst ourselves that, if we could pull it… Read More A Bevy of Announcements!
I long for the loneliness of Los Angeles. I miss its shiny exterior and its hollow core. I always find myself at home in this dangerous labyrinth. And when I get hungry, I crave those small glimmers of hope, the sweet twinkling sustenance fed to me night after night. I know I am so close… Read More “Los Angeles” by Brianna Vigil
I’m drinking too much again. I don’t get blitzed, but every sunset is a new bottle. Who am I kidding? The caps are torn loose before the sun meets the horizon. “I’m having a few and wishing that you were here…” From my balcony, I hear I’m not the only one. There’s a party in… Read More “In Isolation (Drinking Too Much Again)” After Dinah Washington’s ‘Drinking Again’ by Alisha Escobedo
i’m waiting to meet my new psychiatrist, hoping she won’t look like my mother. i’ve had that happen before and couldn’t get past it— same sad eyes opened wide to feign joy, same pursed lips that puckered a bit to the left. a few times, i imagined her hiding wine behind her desk. i canceled… Read More “my new psychiatrist” by Alisha Escobedo
I found myself under a hot red light surrounded by smoke, salt in the air as if I were on a ship in the middle of a storm tossed around by the imbalance of the sea, the hallway a long passage crowded with people unaffected I rocked from one side to the other in suffocating… Read More “Revelation of the Damned” by Brianna Vigil
I found home, at first, I was apprehensive, but there you were, ready. I was apprehensive, but my bags were already in the hall, And then came the excitement— intoxicating— but I had only just gotten comfortable in our bed when the wallpaper began to peel. Two years in: termites made the beams rot and… Read More “Rent” by Sen Kathleen
Hello readers, writers and curious parties alike! Thank you so much for either being an active part of, or randomly stumbling across, Sentience Literary Journal. We are so excited to have you all here for our very first publication! I want to give a special thank you to all the amazingly talented writers who are… Read More This is the Day of the Show Y’all!
Sentience Literary Journal 