KHÔRA's PRIDE Issue | Tomar kotha bhogoban ke bole eshechi by Mei Love | Under the Gameleira Tree by Melina Oliveira
“Can I tell you a secret?” Maria twitched like she was holding in a fart, all jittery. She’d never been any good at keeping secrets.
In this edition:
KHÔRA's Issue 46 Pride Special Edition is here
Issue 46: Tomar kotha bhogoban ke bole eshechi by Mei Love
Issue 46: Under the Gameleira Tree by Melina Oliveira
Special Summer Editions: HEAT (deadline July 1) and FLASH (deadline July 10)
Tomar kotha bhogoban ke bole eshechi by Mei Love
I told God about you.
Stumbling across pictures of you
feels like reliving our last moments together
in spirals of alternate conceiving.
I hate to suffer in unrequited dreaming.Looking at you is too painful and yet
I can’t help it because my love,
it’s been too long since i’ve gazed into your eyes or
swooned over your dazzling smile.
The way your lips curl into my favorite flower in full bloom
and the trees raise their arms
against the wind in complete surrender,
I admire the sun and find myself in mercy
of the humanness in loving you….
Read Tomar kotha bhogoban ke bole eshechi.
Mei Love (they/them) is a bengali, queer, neurodivergent and disabled visionary who resides in the intersections of identity, queerness and ancestral memory. Their work centers around themes of relational repair, transformative justice and revolutionary love as a practice for collective change. They pursued their Bachelor’s in Philosophy from Gargi College, University of Delhi and received their MFA in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon. Since then, Mei has been co-creating with artists and writers across the world, and collaborating on cross-continental creative projects.
Under the Gameleira Tree by Melina Oliveira
They unfurled a sarong by the creek just like they used to when they were kids, scouring for colorful beads to build fairy mountains or playing tag, turning the rocks and towering trees into their playground. It had been ages since they’d ventured there. Maria wasn’t really a girl anymore, even though they were about the same age. You could tell from her scent—sweat mixed with way too much sweet perfume—and by the pimples she did her best to conceal.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Maria twitched like she was holding in a fart, all jittery. She’d never been any good at keeping secrets.
Cora’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. It felt like forever since it was just the two of them sharing stories. These days, all Maria seemed to care about was makeup and the older kids. Instead of hanging out with Cora, she’d sneak out late at night to sip shots of cachaça and who knows what else.
“Duh,” Cora said. “’Course you can.”
“I kissed Sol.” Maria gnawed at her lower lip like she had more to say…
Read Under the Gameleira Tree.
Melina Oliveira is a Brazilian writer, teacher, poet, environmental activist and mother.
Issue 46 PRIDE Special Issue Highlights
Issue 46: Quarts Inverts by Pascal Emmer
Issue 46: Smiling Ferocious Thing by Scott Nelson
Issue 46: Walking home by Ed Wolf
Issue 46: Tomar kotha bhogoban ke bole eshechi by Mei Love
Issue 46: Boy in Grass by Joe Nasta
Issue 46: Under the Gameleira Tree by Melina Oliveira
Artists and Writers
This summer, we’re opening the doors to a seasonal series—two more Summer Special Editions, each one shaped around a single word. This is an invitation to send us work that shimmers, lingers, glows. Art that refuses to explain itself too quickly.
🔥 JULY — HEAT
Swelter, sizzle, burn. We looking for fever-dreamed, sweat-soaked, summer-scorched work that simmers and ignites. Literal heat. Emotional heat. Climate heat. Erotic heat. Longing, pressure, combustion. Bring us the burn.
⚡ AUGUST — FLASH
Micro. Sudden. Sharp. Send us your shortest work—fiction, micro-essays, poetry, fragments, dispatches. We’re talking itty-bitty, under 500 words. We’re listening for the echo.
How it works:
To be considered for the HEAT Issue, please send your work no later than July 1; for the FLASH Issue, no later than July 10. In your note, please mention the name of the issue the work is intended for (Heat, Flash).
Submit up to 3 pieces per theme.
Maximum 2K words for HEAT; maximum 500 words for FLASH.
Previously unpublished work only, please. Simultaneous submissions are fine—just keep us in the loop.
We welcome emerging and established voices—poetry, short prose (maximum 2K), hybrid forms, visual art, and unclassifiable experiments.
Surprise us. Seduce us. Leave something behind.
Can’t wait to see what you’ve got on the burner.
If you love what you’re seeing, please subscribe, share, tweet, retweet, and post, and KHÔRA will be back soon with the HEAT Issue.
With galactic gratitude,
Leigh Hopkins
and the Corporeal/KHÔRA squad
This had me holding my breath. Absolutely in the moment with Maria and Cora!!