issue 2: METAMORPHOSIS
Welcome to the second issue of opia!
When I was noting down theme ideas for this mag, metamorphosis seemed like the obvious choice for spring: a season of awakening, transitioning from the cold bite of winter to gentler air, green shoots, and the dawn chorus.
Of course, this issue didn’t make it in time to celebrate spring. As the wider world changes, so do our own lives, and sometimes all those plants in their blooming season grow too quickly to manage, too quickly to keep out of our way.
Terrible metaphors and personal life aside, I’m happy to finally share this issue with you. There are all kinds of transformations within these pages – physical and mental, external and internal. It may not be spring when you’re reading this, but change occurs all year round. So whenever you click these links, I’m sure you’ll find a metamorphosis that speaks to you.
Enjoy!
—Olga Białasik
Because of the format of some of the works, this issue is best viewed on a desktop device.
If on a mobile or tablet, please rotate screen to landscape mode.
If need be, please check content warnings here before reading.
No Depression by Caleb Nichols
The Ghost of Pablo Neruda Walks into Hemingway’s Seaside Bar by Liz Chang
Pilipinas by Neen Ramos
Progression by Emerson Gray
Carla by Millicent Stott
changeling by Harriet Rowes
Enough by Katlego K. Kol-Kes
They Hid in a Closet by Ari Lohr
god’s face drips with red songs by Nwankwo Prosper O.
Afterbirth by Anoushka Kumar
Phoenicopterus Remade & Evicted from Childhood by Shagufta Mulla
her harlequin hovers by Anna Banerjee
To live quietly by Alice Liefgreen
Grey Paper Catching the Wind by Mary Senier
We See the Herons at Red Bud Isle by Isa Arsén
rebirth at the turn of the century by Mia Golden
