I: Holly Tree

Under the holly tree

bough of berries,

its siren red

temptation.

Where life began

on skinny knees

retching out

my guts.

Waxy saw-tooth skin,

prickly leaves,

the sickly buds

of poison seeds.

The tangy tongue

of Christmas

funerary rites.

I spewed

through chrysalis,

entrails slick

with acid grease,

thickly dripping

afterbirth.

Gazed upon by

ageless tree,

received in holy

communion, my first

memory:

The pluming rack

of tight blue

veins

that hung about

my neck.

The womb of black

that forked

the branching

Earth.

The world that hid

in bitter leaves

and pushed me

into it.

I made a wreath

of holly limbs

to prick my head

with thoughts.

I keep its berries

bright as death

and touch the skin

that baptized

me.

• June 2025

Submission History

Date	Publication	Status
June 27, 2025	The Anglican Theological Review	Pending
July 01, 2025	New Feathers Anthology	Rejected
July 02, 2025	January House Literary Journal	Rejected
July 02, 2025	Mangrove Review	Rejected
July 03, 2025	Cypress Review	Pending
July 04, 2025	wildscape. literary journal	Rejected
July 22, 2025	Earth Amulet Poetry Competition	Pending
August 13, 2025	Tabula Rasa	Pending
August 13, 2025	Lochraven Review	Pending
August 15, 2025	Little Patuxent Review	Pending
August 15, 2025	Smartish Pace	Pending
August 16, 2025	American Poetry Review	Pending
August 16, 2025	Missouri Review	Pending
August 17, 2025	Neon & Smoke	Rejected

Grant,

Thank you for sending us Holly Tree and for sharing the thought behind your work in your cover letter. Your ambition to explore ritual as profane baptism and transformation came through more clearly with that framing.

That said, without the context of your note, the connection to ritual felt less apparent to us. Even with the added insight, we still felt the theme didn’t come through on the page as strongly as we were hoping for this issue. While we admired the striking imagery—especially the way the holly tree serves as a powerful central motif—it ultimately wasn’t the right fit for our Ritual call.

We’re grateful for the chance to read your work and encourage you to submit to us again in the future.

—Warm regards, Neon and Smoke