As It Ought To Be Magazine

Home
As It Ought To Be Magazine

As It Ought To Be is an online literary magazine featuring poetry, literary reviews, and interviews from seasoned writers and emerging voices.

10/12/2025

Sometimes
he still tries to kick
his missing back leg
when we find
that right there spot

New poetry on AIOTB by A.M. Hayden!

Ghost LegSometimeshe still tries to kickhis missing back legwhen we findthat right there spotscratch until we seeripples vibratejust beneath surfacerepeat messages activatedsent to nervesto spinal …

09/12/2025

she plays with the sound
in her mouth

tongues the note around
like a two-ton stone

New poetry by John Compton on AIOTB!

the musical of the bell jarshe plays with the soundin her mouthtongues the note aroundlike a two-ton stonetrying to dislodgethe musicfrom her throat.a cricket hidits songunder a trapdoorwhere a tur…

07/12/2025

"... He stood back, gaze fixed
on the owl’s yellow eyes, the wary
way it watched him tremble, watched
him stare at the rat’s tail continuing
its descent into darkness, darkness."

New poetry on AIOTB by Jacob Butlett

Feeding Time at the ZooThe owl stretched its neck, glugged gluggedglugged the rat deeper down its throat,the tail drooping from the upturnedbeak like a second tongue. My youngerself, barely nine ye…

05/12/2025

New poetry by Ruth Bavetta from the November Edition!

My Father’s ShirtsEarly mornings, I woke to the creakof the ironing board, the smell of hot cotton,my mother humming “O, Sole Mio,”as she hurried to iron a clean white shirtin time for my father to…

29/11/2025

Our November 2025 Poetry Edition is live, featuring new work by:

Ruth Bavetta, Jacob Butlett, John Compton, A.M. Hayden, Joshua Lillie, Joseph Mills, J.R. Solonche, and Alicia Wright.

Ruth Bavetta: “My Father’s Shirts” Jacob Butlett: “Feeding Time at the Zoo” John Compton: “the musical of the bell jar” A.M. Hayden: “Ghost Leg” Joshua Lillie: “What Becomes A Tumblewee…

22/11/2025

"running fingers over each tooth,
raggedness gone, transition
from one to the next like precise

words that keep the hard work
to themselves..."

New poetry on AIOTB by Abner Oakes!

Floating TeethThis poem, shiny and straightat the start, soon a mouthful.I yank lines, grind awayat first words, milk teethof the draft. Uncle Bob floatedteeth, arriving at each barnwith his bucket…

21/11/2025

...I wanted to live inside one of his paintings forever,
that beauty, to immerse myself in a work of art so fully and completely that I left this world behind and it became my world."

New poetry by Andrew Mulvania on AIOTB today!

Download About the Author: Andrew Mulvania is the author of a collection of poems, Also in Arcadia, published by the Backwaters Press (an imprint of The University of Nebraska Press). Recent poems …

19/11/2025

"There is a subordinate hush beneath the silence"

New poetry on AIOTB by Lindsay McLeod!

Sleeping DogsThere is a subordinate hush beneath the silence like father’s anger here in the long quiet dark of this country road that seems suspect soft and warm as a lamb yet we both know f…

16/11/2025

dusty instant
coffee greets us
on a cloudy
coastal morning. this gulf
smells sour after heavy rain.

New poetry by Madison Isbell on AIOTB!

corpus christi, early marchdusty instantcoffee greets uson a cloudycoastal morning. this gulfsmells sour after heavy rain.i grew up collectingshells from a foamyshore further east—so we do ittogeth…

15/11/2025

"you’ll feel the whirring of the cogs
as it settles quietly into a safe warm place"

New work by Paul Ilechko from the October Poetry Edition!

Memories of a MemoryMemory is the easiest thing to rememberwhen once again there is somethingyou can’t quite bring in while utterlycertain that you knew it onceand if you stop trying quite so hardi…

07/11/2025

last winter's coat opened
in Fall of the year
holds forgotten crumbs
of crushed amber leaves

New poetry by Sam Culotta from our October Edition!

A Winter CoatEmbedded in the textureof the fading pastever present in the patternof the fabric, ever presentin the material of memoryin which I wrap myselfwhen the wind turns chillwhen the sunflowe…

30/10/2025

AIOTB's October 2025 Poetry Edition is live!

Sam Culotta: “A Winter Coat” Paul Ilechko: “Memories of a Memory” Madison Isbell: “corpus christi, early march” Lindsay McLeod: “Sleeping Dogs” Andre…

Address

Website

https://asitoughttobemagazine.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when As It Ought To Be Magazine posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.