• Home
    • About Luna Luna
    • EDITORIAL TEAM
    • Archive
    • Foster Youth
    • Legal Stuff
    • Mental Health
  • Read
    • Light: Poems, Prose, Essay & Idea
    • Dark: Magical Living & Shadow Spaces
  • Submit
  • Community
  • Light Magic
Menu

luna luna

  • Home
  • About
    • About Luna Luna
    • EDITORIAL TEAM
    • Archive
    • Foster Youth
    • Legal Stuff
    • Mental Health
  • Read
  • Light + Dark
    • Light: Poems, Prose, Essay & Idea
    • Dark: Magical Living & Shadow Spaces
  • Submit
  • Community
  • Light Magic
Recent diary entries
Brendan Lorber on Why Daydreaming Is Important
Feb 20, 2019
Brendan Lorber on Why Daydreaming Is Important
Feb 20, 2019
Feb 20, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Alina Pleskova, Marwa Helal, June Jordan
Feb 19, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Alina Pleskova, Marwa Helal, June Jordan
Feb 19, 2019
Feb 19, 2019
20 Free and Magical Ways to Engage in Self-Care
Feb 15, 2019
20 Free and Magical Ways to Engage in Self-Care
Feb 15, 2019
Feb 15, 2019
11 Valentine's Day dates for badass witches
Feb 14, 2019
11 Valentine's Day dates for badass witches
Feb 14, 2019
Feb 14, 2019
Survival and Truth: How Tori Amos' Under The Pink Changed My Life
Feb 8, 2019
Survival and Truth: How Tori Amos' Under The Pink Changed My Life
Feb 8, 2019
Feb 8, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Monica Youn, Traci Brimhall, Rosebud Ben-Oni
Feb 6, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Monica Youn, Traci Brimhall, Rosebud Ben-Oni
Feb 6, 2019
Feb 6, 2019
How Do We Name Ourselves?
Feb 4, 2019
How Do We Name Ourselves?
Feb 4, 2019
Feb 4, 2019
Your February 2019 Horoscopes Are Here
Feb 1, 2019
Your February 2019 Horoscopes Are Here
Feb 1, 2019
Feb 1, 2019
Kristine Esser Slentz on Polyamory & Being Raised as a Jehovah's Witness
Jan 30, 2019
Kristine Esser Slentz on Polyamory & Being Raised as a Jehovah's Witness
Jan 30, 2019
Jan 30, 2019
Poetry by Brandon Amico
Jan 29, 2019
Poetry by Brandon Amico
Jan 29, 2019
Jan 29, 2019
A Grimoire For Self-Love: A Peek At Light Magic for Dark Times
Jan 28, 2019
A Grimoire For Self-Love: A Peek At Light Magic for Dark Times
Jan 28, 2019
Jan 28, 2019
5 Books I Had No Idea Existed and Must Find at Once
Jan 28, 2019
5 Books I Had No Idea Existed and Must Find at Once
Jan 28, 2019
Jan 28, 2019
Vi Khi Nao Reviews Diana Hamilton's God Was Right
Jan 25, 2019
Vi Khi Nao Reviews Diana Hamilton's God Was Right
Jan 25, 2019
Jan 25, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Omotara James, John Murillo, E. Kristin Anderson
Jan 25, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Omotara James, John Murillo, E. Kristin Anderson
Jan 25, 2019
Jan 25, 2019
Brandon Amico on Why He Doesn't Want to Be Unreachable
Jan 24, 2019
Brandon Amico on Why He Doesn't Want to Be Unreachable
Jan 24, 2019
Jan 24, 2019
How To Become A Freelance Writer: On Starting Out, Discipline & Ritual
Jan 23, 2019
How To Become A Freelance Writer: On Starting Out, Discipline & Ritual
Jan 23, 2019
Jan 23, 2019
Bewitched: When The Velvet Underground Cast an Identity Spell on Me
Jan 23, 2019
Bewitched: When The Velvet Underground Cast an Identity Spell on Me
Jan 23, 2019
Jan 23, 2019
DIY Gift Ideas for The Magical, the Dreamy, and the Crafty
Jan 22, 2019
DIY Gift Ideas for The Magical, the Dreamy, and the Crafty
Jan 22, 2019
Jan 22, 2019
Review of Christine Stoddard's 'Water for the Cactus Woman'
Jan 22, 2019
Review of Christine Stoddard's 'Water for the Cactus Woman'
Jan 22, 2019
Jan 22, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Vanessa AngΓ©lica Villarreal, Jessica Morey-Collins, Justin Karcher
Jan 18, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Vanessa AngΓ©lica Villarreal, Jessica Morey-Collins, Justin Karcher
Jan 18, 2019
Jan 18, 2019
June Gehringer Tells Us What She's Afraid Of
Jan 16, 2019
June Gehringer Tells Us What She's Afraid Of
Jan 16, 2019
Jan 16, 2019
5 Film & TV Inspired Nightgowns You Need
Jan 15, 2019
5 Film & TV Inspired Nightgowns You Need
Jan 15, 2019
Jan 15, 2019
Music Friyay: Stevie Nicks, Sun Ra, Hamilton Leithauser
Jan 11, 2019
Music Friyay: Stevie Nicks, Sun Ra, Hamilton Leithauser
Jan 11, 2019
Jan 11, 2019
Poetry by Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi
Jan 10, 2019
Poetry by Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi
Jan 10, 2019
Jan 10, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Kay Ulanday Barrett, Devin Kelly, Elizabeth Metzger
Jan 9, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Kay Ulanday Barrett, Devin Kelly, Elizabeth Metzger
Jan 9, 2019
Jan 9, 2019
Poetry by Karina Bush
Jan 8, 2019
Poetry by Karina Bush
Jan 8, 2019
Jan 8, 2019
Hillary Leftwich on Happiness & Why It's Important to Love Childhood Films
Jan 7, 2019
Hillary Leftwich on Happiness & Why It's Important to Love Childhood Films
Jan 7, 2019
Jan 7, 2019
This Moon Playlist Is Everything You Need
Jan 4, 2019
This Moon Playlist Is Everything You Need
Jan 4, 2019
Jan 4, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Chloe N. Clark, Faylita Hicks, Saretta Morgan
Jan 3, 2019
Poetry Weekly: Chloe N. Clark, Faylita Hicks, Saretta Morgan
Jan 3, 2019
Jan 3, 2019
Jordan Rothacker On the Apocalypse, Jared Kushner, and Daily Rituals
Jan 2, 2019
Jordan Rothacker On the Apocalypse, Jared Kushner, and Daily Rituals
Jan 2, 2019
Jan 2, 2019
eduard-militaru-133851-unsplash.jpg

Poetry by Stephanie Tom

October 3, 2018


Morning Ritual

 

I know a girl who knows the secret

to the holiest of all daily rituals:

she says that it's brushing your teeth.

She says that that's when you can really

see yourself, your smile in the mirror,

all exposed in your half-consciousness.

 

She tells me that there is something about

waiting to slip in between day & night

that gives the mind a sense of solitude,

a sense of remembrance. One of the most

important things in life is to remember --

that's where the rushing water helps, the act

of cleansing brings back the memory

of things near forgotten.

 

We define holy acts by their division of spheres,

& how they intersect with the planes of reality

that we create for ourselves.

 

She tells me about her dreams, and how

she wants to split her mouth open with

the flowers in her words; she doesn't like

marigolds anymore, & believes that

it's about time for the poppies & the

peonies to blossom again, a skeleton built

from the bones that bloomed from the

remains of her memory. Oftentimes,

aftermath is measured by the wounds that

they leave; here, there weren't any left to be seen.

Here, she let all of the water run the

bitterness of words from the back of her

throat, so that she can sigh in her own skin,

and learn to wear bones that won't

crumble as easily as they used to.

 

Here is where she washes herself of the past

and builds a new body again.

 


Stephanie Tom is a Chinese-American poet and a rising freshman at Cornell University. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her poetry has either appeared or is forthcoming in Rising Phoenix Review, the Blueshift Journal, Hermeneutic Chaos Literary Journal, and Tinderbox Poetry Journal, among other places. In addition, she has previously been recognized by the national Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the International Torrance Legacy Creativity Awards, and the international Save the Earth Poetry Contest.


In Poetry & Prose Tags Stephanie Tom, poetry
← Poetry by Ann V. DeVilbissPoetry by Cameron Morse →
Tweet us!
Join our coven.
Follow our Instagram
  • Poetry & Prose
  • Lifestyle
  • Art
  • Music
  • Personal Essay
  • Pop Culture
  • Self Portrait
  • Interviews
  • Beauty
  • Social Issues
  • Wellness
  • Wild Words
  • Politics
  • Video Reading Series
  • Place
  • NYC
  • Flash Contest
  • Confession
  • Occult
  • Books
  • Halloween
  • Sex
LIGHT MAGIC FOR DARK TIMES  CAN BE ORDERED HERE

LIGHT MAGIC FOR DARK TIMES
CAN BE ORDERED HERE

Featured
Letters to the Dead: Shadow Writing for Grief & Release
Feb 8, 2019
Letters to the Dead: Shadow Writing for Grief & Release
Feb 8, 2019
Feb 8, 2019
How to Add Magic to Your Every Day Wellness Routine
Feb 5, 2019
How to Add Magic to Your Every Day Wellness Routine
Feb 5, 2019
Feb 5, 2019
Ritual: Writing Letters To Your Self β€” On Anais Nin, Journaling, and Healing
Jan 31, 2019
Ritual: Writing Letters To Your Self β€” On Anais Nin, Journaling, and Healing
Jan 31, 2019
Jan 31, 2019
How Rituals Can Help You Gain Confidence
Jan 17, 2019
How Rituals Can Help You Gain Confidence
Jan 17, 2019
Jan 17, 2019
SEXTING GHOSTS
marvel and moon candles
Tweets by @LunaLunaMag
TONIGHT, Feb. 13, Brooklyn/NYC: join @attheinkwell + Luna Luna for a reading on Self-Love.
.
Readings by @lisamariebasile @joannacvalente  @stephanie.athena  @erinkhar cbwilhelm @lifestudies + hosted by @anditalarico!
.
When: 7-9 p.m. WORD Bookstore, 126 Franklin Street, Brooklyn A sampling of a few of the poets who will be reading at the FEB. 13 event at @wordbookstores for @attheinkwell: @lifestudies + @joannacvalente + @lisamariebasile + @anditalarico (our lovely host) πŸ–€Mark your calendars! February 13, 7pm, Word in Brooklyn Want to get into the writing life? @lisamariebasile wrote a guide to starting your freelance life. All about working from home, money & logistics, ritual and mindfulness, finding clients, developing a portfolio, and negotiating your rates. πŸ™ŒπŸ½ Visit lunalunamagazine.com to read! Our very own @joannacvalente has some images up over at @yespoetry from their #Survivor photo series. (There are more at Luna Luna, too!). πŸ–€ We’re about 200 followers away from 10,000 (!!!!) over on twitter πŸ™ŒπŸΎ Pop over and follow us if you haven’t yet (we’re VERY active there, always having conversations and sharing work and engaging with all of you!) β€” were going to do a giveaway at 10,000. Thank you for the love, it means the world to us πŸŽ‰ LINK IN BIO! WANT TO CONJURE LIZZIE BORDEN? Of course you do. Preorder Lizzie, Speak by our phenom editor & poet @kaileytedesco via the lovely @whitestagpublishing. πŸ‘» The Luna Luna crew! Stay tuned for a reading announcement in February here in NYC. πŸ’œπŸ–€πŸ˜ˆ HAPPY NEW YEARS, friends and readers! πŸ™ŒπŸ½ The lovely @joannacvalente posted your January 2019 horoscopes today. Head over to lunalunamagazine.com to check it out. We have good vibes about this year + we hope you had a beautiful celebration!
.
PS, as Joanna says: β€œA lunar eclipse will occur on January 20 during a full Leo moon is going to be emotionally intense. It will stir up feelings about belonging, identity, and love. It might not be an easy moon, but it will  help you shed any unnecessary habits and relationships. Get rid of what doesn’t serve you.” Start thinking about ways you can release those things or people β€” and what you’d like to focus on instead. πŸ’œπŸ™ŒπŸ½πŸŽ‰

Dark: Magical Living & Shadow Spaces RSS
Light: Poems, Prose, Essay & Idea RSS

powered by TinyLetter

  • Books
  • Confession
  • Halloween
  • Occult
  • Sex
  • Art
  • Beauty
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • NYC
  • Personal Essay
  • Poetry & Prose
  • Politics
  • Pop Culture
  • Social Issues

COPYRIGHT LUNA LUNA MAGAZINE 2018