I've herded my bones

into shapes for keeping

the dead aren't dead

but ghosts we will be

repeating repeating repeating

Come gaze—

you remains of the day

there's always a spot saved

to rest beside me

in the place everyone stays

and no one visits

From the Press:

Sojka's The Ossuary is part elegy, part invocation. Beneath its sparse structure, there is a steady rhythm of reckoning: how we hold our past selves, how memories calcify into ritual, and how the living, too, become a kind of reliquary. Her language is both tender and unflinching, gathering what's left behind and asking us to look, to stay, to remember. In a few spare lines, she turns death into something communal—less an ending than a continued haunting we share together.

About the Author:

Nikola Sojka is a writer with a penchant for the macabre. Her works delve into the earthly divine and explore the relationships between mind, body, and soul. When not haunting old libraries, she can be found exploring lush mountain trails in Europe and the United States. Her pieces have appeared in a multitude of publications, including The Metaworker Literary Magazine, The Cosmic Daffodil Journal, The Shallot Journal, and more. Her poetry and photography can also be found on her Instagram account (SpiralsInShadows).

Where to Find:

Instagram: @SpiralsInShadows