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excerpt from VOL VI: OPULENCE

By Cat Cardenas

Models: Mostefa Sheikhi, Skyler Burk, William Gonzales; HMUAs: Mariam Ali, Skyler Burk; Photographer: Mariam Ali; Stylist: Skyler Burk

envy trails success like a shadow

lurking in the corners of our deepest desires

fangs fixed on success’ every move 

seeing only what it admires

envy is an emerald green gem

in a sea of precious gold

masquerading as purity,

a hand that it could never hold

greed watches wealth like a hawk

an everpresent fixture

dangerously unnoticed

a voice barely above a whisper

greed never comes with a warning

no flashing lights or ringing bells

it is suddenly all-consuming

no one immune to its subtle spells

beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder

but what if that eye belongs to lust?

swimming in innocence and warmth

eyes that one should never think to trust

mirrors hold no alliance

reflecting what they know to be true 

interpretation is left to the reflection

left to you and your rose-colored hue

the ghost of who we are

haunting who we pretend to be

a shell of a human 

with a soul lost at sea