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Songs of Morning
Nick Allison When I awoke today,I looked to the eastand there was the sun,punctual as ever. I opened the back door,pleased to hear the birdssinging their songs of morninginto the cool, quiet air. Breathing in, I feel my lungsexpand, contract. Steady,the beat of my heart,a small promise of existence. The world goes on as it… Continue reading
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The Quiet Landing
Brent Boeckman Standing in the rubble of a life split wide open.Not a door ajar, but the whole damn house blown in.The discovery of a person who poured every dropof cement into the crack—watching the foundation still just… snap. The raw mix: Exhaustion. Confusion.The voice thick with the simple, brutal intrusion of failure,even when doing… Continue reading
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employed
Melissa Lemay i hold the plungerbetween my teethand pullitback. drawingthe liquid into thebarrel. it is the colorof a camel. i find the pool-bluemarker in thecrook of my elbow. piercing my skin, adark-dance oblivionfollows after red. i wake up, unsureof when; wherebegins to come intofocus. i am late to workagain. Melissa Lemay lives in Lancaster County,… Continue reading
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A Protest Piece
Erica Johnson I decided to partakepopping over to a protestand demonstrating democracyI was not prepared fora capital crisis on the capitolwhere the lines are drawnnot unlike the lines we drewin permanent marker on posterwhich warbles with movementand the din of voicesebbing, flowing, weavingaround and into the streetsarms linked or outstretchedand stomping feet standingor sitting stampingand… Continue reading
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Bird
Zsófia Hajnal Bird in a cageYou want to be freeImagine the world more beautifulThan it couldEver be And soThe idea of wonderIs bornAnd sung in an ageOf captivity Zsófia Hajnal is a Budapest-based Hungarian economist and poet. In 2024, while her doctoral dissertation Reinterpreting the Moral Economy, written at the Corvinus University of Budapest, approached… Continue reading
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Writing with the Herd
Kate Bremer Tucker greets us today—messenger from other worlds;He travels back and forth so easily in the quiet, betweenthe trees, under the shrill of Bodi’s squeaky toy.Something is happening! Donkey squeals! Pony runs! Sylvia runs! The world is speedingup again. Time to slow the pen. Neutron star,heavier than Jasper, Marshmallow and all our drums. Marshmallowwants… Continue reading
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Hartford Meadow
Edward St. James The nerves have long stretched outwards from my spineSudden noises and piles of paperwork stretching aboveAll while fascism grows and nightmares stand in a lineI dream of becoming a dove in a grove Sudden noises and piles of paperwork stretching aboveOnly daydreams can keep me moving forwardI dream of becoming a dove… Continue reading
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Another Two Dollars
Sam Hendrian At sunset on Sunset BoulevardWhen West Hollywood was waking upAn aspiring actress of 25Limped back to her studio apartment. Didn’t know she was poor‘Til she dropped her toothbrush on the groundAnd cursed in fearOf having to lose another two dollars. Ten days into sobriety so farWhich would have been an accomplishmentIf it hadn’t… Continue reading
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Our Lady, the Future
Kim Whysall-Hammond We are a gate by which she enterswe accidental godswe must dance as fast as we can Fear cannot not take hold of uswe must be furioushold fast to life, to laughterto the birdsong that lifts our Sunto rain that waters and cleansesto clear streams and bright skies She is the ghost of… Continue reading
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On Disappearing
Audrey Howitt I watch footage when it’s available.White men in masks take you, and you go.What else can you do in a countrywhere you thought you could speak out? If I could,I would form keys from the fingers of your captors,I would cry on the spot they took you,I would pin your image, your name,… Continue reading
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About the Project
The Chaos Section Poetry Project publishes curated poetry collections rather than individual poems on a rolling basis. Our work is primarily rooted in contemporary free verse, though we’re open to a wide range of forms when they serve the book or project.
Each collection is built around a central theme and shaped through close editorial collaboration, with an emphasis on voice, craft, and emotional honesty.
All books are available free to read on the site and as free high-quality digital downloads. Print editions are offered for readers who want a physical copy.
Record of Dissent: Poems of Protest in an Authoritarian Age
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