By Allison Goldstein

Hunched at the edges  
of the swirling gray water, 
 
the men can only shake  
their heads in quiet disappointment 
as the car full of dead girls  
is dredged from the river. 
 
Silent faces young and perfect— 
lipstick unsmudged,  
not an eyelash 
out of place. 
 
A low groan escaping the tow truck  
as it drags the sedan past  
the cross-armed men  
straddling the shoreline,  
 
tires clawing into the mud 
like the fingernails  
of someone buried alive.   

This_Limestone_Doom_-_Mixed_Media_Collage

This Limestone Doom by Brett Stout

About the Author

Allison Goldstein received her MFA in Poetry from California College of the Arts. She has been published in a variety of literary and cultural publications including Not Very Quiet: The AnthologyBurnt PineMoleculeGyroscope Review, and Maximum Rocknroll. Allison currently lives and writes in South Florida. You can learn more about her work by visiting her website. 

About the Artist

Brett Stout is an artist and writer originally from Atlanta, Georgia. He is a high school dropout and former construction worker turned college graduate and paramedic. He creates mostly controversial artwork usually while breathing toxic paint fumes from a cramped apartment known as “The Nerd Lab.” His work has appeared in a vast range of diverse media, such as art and literature publications by NYU and Brown University.