spin your webs strong, your stories thick. send your words out from their corners
into the world and watch: they pull us along.
Winter 2026 Issue 3
ERIC BRAMAN
I Think the Pothos Knows
at some point I must have bumped it,
or perhaps the cat chewed through
the length of its vine, or it could be
I forgot to water it for a month or so.
whatever reason, the leaves are drying
one at a time in no particular order.
they droop, char, crunch until the
final fibers of their being cling tight
to mother, my gentle pluck a departure
as lost life moves into a pile for compost.
it’s time I nick the length of its neck
snipping down to little nubs anywhere
it bends – soak, root, earth, and then,
like god intended, these little traumas
will sprout into new life for the hurting.
ERIC BRAMAN (they/them) is a poet, storyteller, and playwright and author of Bury Me in Cherry Blossoms (Cirque Press). Eric's work has been published by High Shelf Press, Qu Literary Magazine, The Coachella Review, Moon Tide Press, Tethered Literary, and more. They have also produced a range of autobiographical performances including To You / To Myself, which was an honorarium recipient at the 2022 Oregon Fringe Festival. Eric was selected as the 2025 Writer in Residence with Fishtrap and 2024 Featured Poet at the Oregon Poetry Out Loud State Contest, and also nominated for a 2025 Michigan Broadway Award for Best New Play. www.ericbraman.com