By Debbie Robertson “Mom, I’m home.” Luz clicked shut the heavy oak door and gently dropped her faux fur backpack on the bench nearby. A stack of mail, as usual, was piled on the table in the hall, but there was something in it that caught her eye: something pink. Her hands grabbed at the … Continue reading Into the Light
Family of Flares
By Haydn Wells A family of unorganized lettersAs some are jumbled, laying amongst others that are kept;Some letters agree upon the otherWhile some are merely checking on another.Some do not know the difference between right and wrong While others know but are too headstrong to admit their wrongs.Some do not care what the other letter … Continue reading Family of Flares
Stay Put
By Akinkuolie Steve The harmattan wind roared through the village of Omoloro, dragging with it a shroud of dust that veiled the sun and set men coughing into their elbows. Women crouched low over their mortar and pestle, pounding yam with a rhythm older than memory, their faces lined not just with age but with … Continue reading Stay Put
aren’t you cold?
By Jade Metrillo When Won’s brother calls to ask how he’s doing, he says he’s doing good. He talks about getting new glasses and contacts, about the stray cats in his neighborhood he sees on his walks, and the rains they’ve been having lately. He doesn’t tell him about the reason why he needed new … Continue reading aren’t you cold?
Hypothermic Dream
By Titoxz I In the void where shadows whisper,Where light refracts through fractured faith,A silent dialogue—dissonant, distant—Emerges between the echo of a godAnd the ghost of a penitent heart.Did I, in my spirals of doubt,Unravel the threads of our covenant,Or was it You, who, in the stillness,Withdrew the breath of divinity,Leaving me to suffocateIn the … Continue reading Hypothermic Dream
Dream on Dreamer
By Timothy Law Once upon a time, I used to dreamI would imagine finding a princess both fair and sweetI would make her my wife and love her foreverOur happily ever after, or so I thoughtNow I am older, I understandPrincesses don’t fall for guys like me, shy, reserved, quiet as can beBut, I have … Continue reading Dream on Dreamer
A Library’s Secrets
By Mattie Brown It was just another quiet night for Sam, the night guard at the Alderbrook Public Library. This being only his fourth day on the job, he is starting to become familiar with the twitching broken screen of the security camera computer and the eerie silence of the empty library. The only noise … Continue reading A Library’s Secrets
Caravaggio
By Matthew Lee And again, today, I look, a frenzy, wasted breaths that mouthed civilities and ersatz pastiches of backslapping to elevate the atomic consistency of the air, and remembering that to others, against the vitreous backdrop of the drawing room, we are simply caricatures laying out platitudes to Chet Baker, and Davis now, and … Continue reading Caravaggio
All Alone
By H. L. Dowless All alone, talking to myself. Alone, staring at the walls, ‘tis only me and nobody else. Alone, with my own mixed up thoughts. Alone, with my haunting terror dreams; hearing whispers all about, I must be going mad so it seems. It's only me, seeing what I want to see, reading … Continue reading All Alone
Schism
By Glenn Marchand We seem amiss, afield. I search for keys; in turn, to angle a piano. Something grand; something full of grace. A piano that speaks. I was like a sponge, collecting keys, pausing to whiff the breeze. An inrush of thoughts, feeling musicians—the art, vivacity, and velocity. Over ink spills, plums and pears, … Continue reading Schism
Academy of the Heart And Mind 