Self-portrait (2026), Polina Novikova
POST-TRUTH AGE
Cynthia Atkins
You will inherit fool’s gold
at sunset on the 14th
of never. And I’ve got
a guiding principle—
A bridge I’ll sell you
that leads to nowhere.
There is a promissory note
next to the cancellation
of your healthcare. It was
the largest inauguration
attendance in history.
Period. We looked for
News in the newsprint,
but it was being used for
Arts & Crafts. Sticky truths!
Three plus two is four.
The laugh track took
us all for lame suckers,
and stole our laugh.
Cynthia Atkins (She, Her), originally from Chicago, IL is the author of Psyche’s Weathers, In the Event of Full Disclosure, Still-Life With God, and Duets, a collaborative chapbook from Harbor Editions. Her work has appeared in many journals, including Alaska Quarterly Review, BOMB, Cider Press Review, Diode, Cimarron Review, Indianapolis Review, Florida Review, Los Angeles Review, North American Review, Permafrost, Plume, Seneca Review, and Verse Daily, Vox Populi. Her new Ms, “The Honeymoon of Sorrows,” was a finalist in the 2015 TRIO HOUSE PRESS, Louise Bogan Award. She earned her MFA from Columbia University. Atkins has earned fellowships and prizes from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, SWWIM Residency @TheBetsyHotel Writer’s Room, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Writer’s Voice, and Writers@Work. Atkins lives on the Maury River of Rockbridge County, VA.