(with thanks to Han Sai Por’s ‘Shimmering Pearls’) Daryl Lim Wei Jie Issue 1: RISE, July 2023 growing up I remember being stunned by how late Ma left the office (often we would have dinner without her after waiting in vain) when we managed to get her it’d be after waiting near the office at…

Kimberley Chia Issue 1: RISE, July 2023 In our haste to catch the bus I step on a snail, its crevice collapsing in on itself. A nomad murdered by a house it thought to be home. You laugh sadly and say this must be a metaphor, for us. The statement hangs heavy with ache. In…

Christian Yeo Issue 1: RISE, July 2023 i. Ma says the shoe is always on the wrong foot with me. I have been trying to unravel this for a long time. Isn’t it the other foot? I say. Somewhere outside, a crow is shot from the sky. I dislike the violence of aphorisms— dislike their…

Daryl Lim Wei Jie Issue 1: RISE, July 2023 A constant desire to be sure that an Alpha is present Youth smiles without any reason An unending supply of urban warriors crafted for the experienced wearer You are what you love, not who loves you Everyday fashion; forward style; style inspiration; horrible scam company A…

JY Tan Issue 1: RISE, July 2023 She waters the purple wolfsbane and points at it and calls it a nightmare. You wake in the middle of the night to see her drinking black bile from your cup. You return home to see her on the home-phone and feel nothing but static. And you hear…