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PoetryJanuary 11, 2013

a ribcage drenched in dust

i have your ribcage, you said.

"Pencil vs Camera no. 40" by Ben Heine

“Pencil vs Camera no. 40” by Ben Heine

what should i put in it?

 

i told you i’d always wanted a fire,

the kind that would fill my eyes with starlight

and pump my blood full of passion, but

 

you’re made of wildflowers, you said.

a fire would burn you to ash.

 

you wanted to fill my chest with

the sound of a train, whistling

far away in the night;

with the sound of rain smacking leaves;

with the sound the wind makes

when it seems like it’s trying to speak

 

and you wanted to throw in the smell

of midnight in august

and the feeling of sand being

sucked out from under your feet

when the ocean inhales,

and the strange little moment of

bittersweet joy you get when

someone else puts your soul into words

and you realize you’re not as alone as you thought.

 

i told you that if i had all that inside me,

i’d ache all the time

and you smiled

because you already knew that ache.

 

i’ve got it, i said.

tell me a story. tell me the truest story you know.

 

and you brightened.

and leaned in.

and filled my ribcage with a story.

 

it was only three words long,

but it did the trick.

~Tegan Watson

 

Tegan Watson is an eighteen-year-old college student living in New York. She watches too many Pixar movies, loves fairy tales, and tries to weave a little whimsy into everything she writes. 

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literature #2poetry

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One last love letter...

April 24, 2021

It has taken us some time and patience to come to this decision. TMS would not have seen the success that it did without our readers and the tireless team that ran the magazine for the better part of eight years.

But… all good things must come to an end, especially when we look at the ever-expanding art and literary landscape in Pakistan, the country of the magazine’s birth.

We are amazed and proud of what the next generation of creators are working with, the themes they are featuring, and their inclusivity in the diversity of voices they are publishing. When TMS began, this was the world we envisioned…

Though the magazine has closed and our submissions shuttered, this website will remain open for the foreseeable future as an archive of the great work we published and the astounding collection of diverse voices we were privileged to feature.

If, however, someone is interested in picking up the baton, please email Maryam Piracha, the editor, at maryamp@themissingslate.com.

Farewell, fam! It’s been quite a ride.

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