By Duane Anderson The state highway department posted the message:“Not wearing seat belts? I’m telling Santa,”but I tell them, go ahead, tell Santa,for Santa hasn’t visited me in ages.I was already on his naughty list,but since I was already wearing a seat belt,there was no reason to tell Santa that I was being good,so there … Continue reading The Naughty List
Retirement
By Anthony Ward My line of country’s now an island,Cut off from the mainland,As I watch them going about their lives Like clockwork,Thoughts ticking like a pendulum,Swinging one way- Then the other- In synch,Never having time to themselves.While I remain hereWith all the time in the world And nothing to do with it.Having worked towards … Continue reading Retirement
Early Morning Stillness
By Brenda Mox As fortune passed its meridian,the moon shut herselfwithin her chamber,girdling the great hill hollowwhere greenness grew over brown bedsrich in verdure shadows,giving force and fixednessto new impressions.From a cerulean skyuniformly clear of cloudsor evil feeling,the sun drank dew dropsfrom light illumined orchard treeswhile early morning stillnessslumbered everywhere. Brenda Mox is a poet … Continue reading Early Morning Stillness
The Fish Store
By Erica Macri My grandfather wants fancy tail guppies: three male, two female. I get in the car with Joe, his dutiful son and my father, and before I can blink, he speeds onto the Long Island Expressway. Joe is talking about fish, positing that the females of the species have the fancy tails. I … Continue reading The Fish Store
Submerged Values
By Thomas E. Simmons Released in 1997, Titanic1 casts massive shadows. The film’s title mimics the gargantuan scale of the eponymous ocean liner herself (displacing 52,000 tons), the scope of her disastrous finish (the deadliest peacetime ship-sinking in history), and the film’s swollen budget (at $200 million, the most expensive film ever made at the … Continue reading Submerged Values
Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Strawberry Panic’s Etoile Competition
By Andrew Nickerson Throughout history, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has been used to explain numerous different outcome types. Battlefields, sports competitions, politics, and even business dealings have been analyzed/dissected via this legendary master of tactics and strategy. However, there’s one realm of reality that hasn’t been broached with this type of analysis until … Continue reading Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Strawberry Panic’s Etoile Competition
Soneto XIII de Via Lactea by Olavo Bilac
Translated from Portuguese by Bernardo Villela Translator's Note: “Sonnet XIII” by Olavo Bilac was originally published in 1888 is one of the best known and highly regarded poetical works in the Portuguese language. Olavo Bilac (December 16, 1865 – December 28, 1918) was a Brazilian Parnassian poet, journalist and translator. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and … Continue reading Soneto XIII de Via Lactea by Olavo Bilac
Under the Spell of Love
By Alex Andy Phuong A romantic retreatCan be a real treat,Especially since A sense of passionPuts love into action,And fall under the spellOf wishes from a wishing well,For time will tellIf love could withstandThe test of time,And never underestimate How love is sublime,And the way toAppreciate todayComes from the loss of hate,So choose to love … Continue reading Under the Spell of Love
The Swamp Witch
By Thom Schilling Gray and windy, the last ghosts of winter spit sleet from the mid-March sky. Bored senseless, my best friend Paul and I spent the last hour depositing quarters in an industrial-sized dryer in the only laundromat in town. If you wore heavy leather gloves and braced yourself against the barrel, you could … Continue reading The Swamp Witch
A Black Belt in Action
By Lewis Brett Smiler The tournament was more than a month away, but Mrs. Holland could not help feeling excited. Her grandson Gary would be competing for the first time as a black belt. The fifteen-year-old was determined to win the top prize in sparring, but his opponents would be tougher than before. He would … Continue reading A Black Belt in Action
Academy of the Heart And Mind 