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cantos

blacktar baby feels the pain of 10,000 doves
10,000 doves unzip their heartskins for him
10,000 infant doves spin on a spit
10,000 dove hearts bleed into black plastic


spread-eagled like the savior
fleecy clouds that gather
on the horizon before rain

frigid, the dying child
finds solace in their down
sips warm dove's
milk from porcelain

please, he says

be with me always.
carry me through
these slime-ridden & toxic streets


a diabetic with swollen, oozing calves
lifts a pants leg
seeps pus on public transit
take him, man. this is no place for kids
no ointment, no salv(ation
no dime for the dying


corpulent & sweaty, the trash-humper

zips grimy & massive pants.
peels himself from the putrid heap
take him, man. this is no place for kids
no counsel here for the crazy
no love here for the ugly


Veterans with lost limbs die, mutely.
in motion. Pulaski to Washington all-night.
the sun rises & Business Boys in rolled pants pant,
brisk from a jog up the L stairs.
Trixies instagram & blend lipstick in mini-mirrors.

an ethereal poet clutches
the roof-rail and sways, wide-eyed;
stares through semitransparent windows.
hypnotized by the 9-5 tides.


FORTUNE draws straws and says





-- ok,



blacktar baby reaches out
silently
with the gentle heart
of a soul fading out for good

the final kindness
with which God concludes each day

with a sunset;
 

warming cascade of pinks,

quartzy rose fields layered

with arcs of soothing

saffron & aqua.


blacktar baby reaches out
with pigment-powdered fingers

& paints quietly over raw sores.
offers his last best.

walks nude & new-born

into new wings
walks, shielded
with the armour of 10,000 doves
to be carried to the sea of milk.

what strange alchemies we share.


Blacktar Baby says Please.

please dont go.
please stay.
please take me with you.
please braid my hair.
please wash
my heart
my hands
my feet
please love me.
please let me love you.
please.
take me with you.

10,000 doves form a feathered galleon;

a marine vessel, angelic

as any winged cherub of Botticelli or Michelangelo-

an arc, with sails soft-tipped as dew-kissed

dandelions or Farrah Fawcett tresses


let me be
lost in you


    (a chain is unloosed from the dock)

    (missives in winged hands fly)


no goodbyes.


wide eyes meet
a blackwhite horizon & say
take me away.


use kind vocabulary, please-


say "yes"
"always"
"truth"
"love"
"beauty"
"gentle"
"released wholly in gentle rays"

ok?

              yes ok


(the radiant heart sings)


the sea of quilted memories envelops;
welcoming and un-strange.
first light made liquid.
buttery & rich;
sweet-savory & warm-cool.
salty as a slow tear,
and gentle as soft breasts.
unloose all pain;
be still, child.


be borne softly

into the known unknown.

th_Eroses is a contemporary art website dedicated to cultural discourse, photography, cinema, poetry, internet performance, and art critical theory.

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theroses.directors@gmail.com

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submissions

staff

submissions

The Summer 2025 Arts + Human Rights Research Award will be open to submissions this summer (Friday, June 20, 2025, 10:42 p.m. EDT - Monday, Sept. 22nd, 2025, 2:19 p.m. EDT). The topic of the Summer 2025 A+HRRA is Truth, Media, and Human Rights. 

th_Eroses is awarding $100 for a work of artistic / literary research that addresses or concerns human rights in conjunction with this season's topic, Truth, Media, and Human Rights. 

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The goal of this award is to amplify artistic voices that inquisitively and critically approach the pressing issues of our time, to create a habitat where a unique form of creative journalism can thrive, and to provide th_Eroses readers with artistic / literary insights into key issues.

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Submissions may include, but are not limited to, works investigating the nature of truth, the concept of objective truth, the role of the subject and the subject’s context in their experience of or access to truth, media theory and/or the role of media in the creation, dissemination and dismantling of truth and/or truth narratives, the relationship between scientific and artistic or poetic truths, collective faith in expertise, the role of the expert, and the role of the artist and/or poet in relation to the social creation or dismantling of truth and/or truth narratives, etc. 

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The term 'research' here is intended to indicate the process of creation, exploration, and discovery, rather than the compiling of archival facts and/or materials, although the compiling of archival facts and/or materials may be a part of the process of exploration and discovery, or a part of the process of shaping the path or direction of discovery. This is intended to be an open-ended premise, to support the range of work that may occur in artists' and writers' unique processes. 

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From the UN: 

"What Are Human Rights? Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination."

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https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/human-rights

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Successful submissions may, but are not required to, focus on investigative, process-based exploration and material discovery. Successful submissions may couple rigorous (or subjective) analysis with documentation of investigative, process-based exploration and discovery. Submissions do not need to be factual; forms of literary fiction, subjective expression, abstraction, choreography, and/or non-narrative presentations will be considered as well. Submissions in all languages and media are welcomed.

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Please note: If your work is submitted and selected for the award, you consent to the publication of your submitted work by th_Eroses now and in the future. Not all submissions will win the award; there may be one submission chosen, or multiple submissions, or none of the submissions. Selected submissions will receive an email of acceptance and next steps. 

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Please submit work to theroses.directors@gmail.com with "Entry: A+HRRA 2025" in the subject line.

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