Don’t Think, Just Go Along With It by Bogdan Dragos

the candles were not made of wax it was something different Something that smelled like sweat as they melted there were five of them One for each corner of the pentagram They had to take the furniture and the carpet out of the room to trace it in the middle with powders he’d never heard…

A Cold Hell by Bogdan Dragos

the clouds seemed to be holding the sun back like a slave with chains of lead After a night of heavy snow the day tried to make a comeback and failed It was 11:00 AM and dark as evening and since it was also cold as hell they concluded they were in hell “But hell…

Nine Months Later…A Big THANK YOU!

All I feel is gratitude. MASTICADORESINDIA began its publishing journey on September 1, 2021. At the time, I wasn’t sure how things would progress. It was a leap of faith and creativity, and I think it’s safe to say that we have landed smoothly on our feet. This couldn’t have been possible without the talented…

What the Shadow Eats, the Shadow Becomes by Bogdan Dragos

A great shadow seems to have tripped and fallen over these memories like a thing alive and hungry How lucky it is to have stumbled upon such treasure I feel it eating right now, like a famished animal filling its belly with chunks not even chewed It’s eating her face and I can no longer…

What’s Prodigal Mean? by Bogdan Dragos

he felt a bit guilty about it but just a bit He knew it was wrong to be happy when father came home drunk and stupid but it was the only time when mother came to sleep in his room, “because your father needs to cool off,” as she put it It was a good…

Allergies by Bogdan Dragos

“Are you trying to kill me?” his mother screamed. “Are you trying to fucking kill me!?” He backed away. “Mom, please.” “Shut up! You brought a cat. A cat! Of all things. In the house! Knowing full well of my allergies. That is a declaration, young man. A declaration that speaks very loud. You are…

Remains by Dr. Shailja Sharma

The cottage remains The myth of love still lives in the heap of straw and amongst the beads of a broken necklace The footsteps cutting through woods are deep, solid despite the rain through years Life is walking on them rather slowly due to a tangled “Scarf” -DR. SHAILJA SHARMA This poem was first published in…

It’s All a Game by Bogdan Dragos

but what are we alive for if not to play and enjoy games life itself is but a game and the best at it are those who don’t grow up, those who can still view it as such She tried to teach her four children this truth that’s why she brought them into the backyard…

Fantasy World Map by Bogdan Dragos

yes, there are those days when you lie in bed with palms under your head and stare at the cracks in the ceiling There were many cracks on the kid’s ceiling and he watched them imagining that they were borders between countries He was looking upon a world map and he started naming the countries…

Rotten Tongue by Bogdan Dragos

the big purple bird with no eyes and chipped beak didn’t fly It walked like a normal person would. Almost like someone was wearing it as a costume but he knew of course that there was no one wearing the costume It was real and it showed itself to him on too many occasions. Every…

Drown Everything by Tony Espino

Carl looks past the photos of happy customers on the wall at a sparrow perched in the dark on an empty pill bottle outside. An artifact from a time when medication could relieve anxiety. A time when there was a choice to fix society or increase the dosage to deal with society. The highest dosages…

You Laid Eggs Under my Eyelids? by Bogdan Dragos

the pains in his lower back were killing him “Fuck,” he said, “that’s what I get for not investing into a decent chair.” He reached into his pack and took out another cigarette. “But I gotta smoke to stay alive. What a shitty life.” He typed for another 36 minutes and then his friend, the…

Of Lipsticks, Little Girls, and Big Dreams by Shobana Gomes

She was about five or six With lovely piercing eyes Not one to miss out on details She looks around. She caught my eye No smile but look again she did My look warm, my eyes smiling, She turns away Was that look one of beguile? Her little barbie doll clasped in her arms, Her…

Sometimes You Just Have to Kill ‘em by Bogdan Dragos

watching the rain fall against the window while listening to whiskey blues and thinking about her and how great it would’ve been if she were still alive Only the whiskey is missing and the cigarette and the willpower to admit that she never existed in the first place. Not outside the pages of the book…

Intelligent Brain or Delicate Mind? by Vineet Singh Galhotra

As you scroll the feed of social media, you come across so many auto suggestions. Most of the time, they are the links to your searches in google. It means whatever you search, whenever you search, your social media tracks your search and tries to offer a solution to your query. Our mind too is…

Most Subjective Industry of All by Bogdan Dragos

“Some poets are lucky,” he said. “And others simply aren’t. Remember, as long as we talk about the publishing industry it’s all about luck. Like, yeah, go ahead and name one, just one industry that is more subjective, or just as subjective as the publishing industry. I bet you can’t.” “Um, fashion industry?” I said…