 Coi at the Exchange, photography by Justin “Hap G” Gilmore (USA) contemporary Atrium It is a coy game we play glass and steel stretch to the sky from a concrete foundation a seduction with a skyline everyone succumbs. that is why we dot the sidewalks with young trees, balance true nature with our creations, the ying and yang, leaving blight in the shadows to be gentrified ducking stray bullets, is it the strength of surviving or the luck of position. yellow taped wild neighborhoods or sculpture gardens on the river. do the walled banks stand forever. corners vie for a raw dollar while exchanges manipulate millions here we are bending around reflections a coi in a still pond. sinking our fears for a moment but we can only contain our fires for so long. dragons await embers burn into bigger flames  Beach Walk, photography by Justin “Hap G” Gilmore (USA) contemporary Circumvent We are tracks in the sand to be blown away or slapped by the tide in this sloshing globe it is strenuous to keep our heads above water we are water framed in bone and flesh that thinks we are permanent history testifies otherwise our time is barely one letter on the page the sun always ascends you can hold hands sit and watch but you can never out run. night always comes lets walk each other home for another day build castles of memories before the storm surges erode the dunes & flood the streets We can only float for so long before we are crab fodder  Manhole Reflection, photography by Justin “Hap G” Gilmore (USA) contemporary Manhole Covers Trying to keep a lid on these streets never works water always collects taxes at the lowest recollections a bit blurry blinded we drown in worry looking to regain focus street lights are constellations from our own spirit animals sometimes it takes embracing a night sleep to free our beasts I know too many fallen soldiers erased by the buff or waiting for kites and I allow the everyday to block the wind forgive me, I haven’t forgotten I am searching for the perfect line to get us from A to be swollen from the sting we have gone square escaped the skyline rippling behind us  Bell Mills Road, photography by Justin “Hap G” Gilmore (USA) contemporary Daydreaming It is all Dr. Strange a hand spun portal apparitions reveal ghosts that were always there glaring as slant light creek a prism to see ourselves easy to get lost on linear ideas but we all circle to where we started have we ever broke free from our water wombs soaking in the sun’s energy on mother earth bridging the gap only to realize we know nothing we are all green don’t Ophilia we will all be one soon live mad  Saloon, photography by Justin “Hap G” Gilmore (USA) contemporary Night Is on My Mind Crazy Horse & Mickey’s wide mouth bottles spray paint fat caps & markers our attempt To bring light only sunk us deeper into loneliness so I rock darkness as a cape dragged behind me, around me when still, it hides me my mutation is I slip comfortably quietly into the shadows just beyond Streetlights boom boxes, boom-bap Aiwi walkmans with big cupping headphones cutting us off from those that can’t hear the thump of our chest feeding us oxygen head nods and affirmations angels speak in repeated refrains even after the song stops playing backpacks, baggie clothes collar polos like Grand Pupa reel to reel dimes of dirt weed uniforms of stumbling souls like me and you tunnel vision drunk tagging mailboxes the bread crumbs of aerosol and ink hoping to be seen in the sunlight row homes store fronts small streets and alleyways a Philly Stonehedge waiting on the moonrise standing in puddles of survivors guilt splashes drowning smirks and grins Gary Fox Originally from Philadelphia, Gary Fox currently resides on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He went from a neighbourhood kid writing graffiti, to a hip-hop producer, and now he is a retail manager, father and husband. He draws in influences from graffiti writers Seen, Donde, and Stephen Powers to classic artists like John Willliam Waterhouse and J.M.W. Turner, and Monet. He has published poems in The Shore, Cathexis Northwest Press, and The Broadkill Review and has a B.A. in English and a certificate in creative writing from The Pennsylvania State University as well as doing the Arts and Humanities Program at The University of Manchester.
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The Ekphrastic Review
COOKIES/PRIVACY
March 2026
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