By James Bates Fresh lilacs bloomingLily-of-the-valley tooSpringtime scent so sweet. Springtime misting rainTender garden shoots reachingThirstily drinking.Deep woods forest pathLeafy green canopy aboveSleepy shade below.Late day setting sunLast light filters through the treesBlanket of soft warmth. Jim lives in a small town twenty miles west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His stories have appeared online in CafeLit, The Writers' … Continue reading Four Springtime Haiku
Hive behind the left eye
By Jordan Corley Hive hums somewhere behind the left eye. Drip of gold down the neck —molten sugar rots in afternoon heat.Today reached 37 degrees A helmet of bees—no straps, just teeth.Frantic needles in a dance you didn’t learn.Buzz like loose wires chewing a lightbulb before the electric shockWaxface on backwards again.Chin too tight, lips … Continue reading Hive behind the left eye
Hurriyet
By Ritu Borah But I will pick up my eyes from the middle—or from where I left them— to see. Like a hydrant hot springtravelling deep indoors, something stirs and spills—to chill, to blend, to radiate. Little smokes outside,a wave rising from the shivering floor. Under their burn-belts, newly observant eyes—the sun, carrying its own … Continue reading Hurriyet
Desserts and Blossoms
By Grace Lee Deep, dark chocolate the shade of walnutswith a hard, shell exterior, when bitten down on, cold brushes the tongue—the chill of fresh, sweet strawberries.Frosting like a heart—pink and redatop a brown, foiled pastry, and adorned with sprinkles on each curve and the elevated center.Sprinkles like hearts, shades of red.Small, carmine sausages in … Continue reading Desserts and Blossoms
Human Bibliothèque
By Carolyn Gevinski You deserve so much more than a poem.The blue sky you crave, a moonlit seato envelop thee, that rushing midnight flood I can be.“Don’t fade, please don’t fade,”I pray—and I never pray.Sistine Chapel in rainbow,Bring me by high-speed rail, let me see,please?I’ll write you my kisses for a fleeting eternity. Carolyn Gevinski’s … Continue reading Human Bibliothèque
Exposition
By M. Benjamin Thorne I always feel sorryfor birds in the rain,suffering stoically thedrop-splatter on head,incessant drip offwicking feather vanes;But do they suffer? Oris it simply the isthat exists before thenext one, the leechingsun sucking back upthe already forgotten?Maybe. But still I seethrough the window,past my reflection,the huddled soaked crowshead-cocked, peeringin at me, my too-smallroom … Continue reading Exposition
Bolt Cutters
By Madeline Mulkerrins At the river’s edge, a group of whooping cranes leap in a circle, aiming their beaks up to the satellites. Google says it’s a bonding ritual. There are rules hung up where you can’t see them, behind the barbed wire. Everyone’s got bolt cutters now. You must crawl under the fence. So … Continue reading Bolt Cutters
Common Ground
By Arden Falker Burning effort like newspapersto keep each other warm.Unwinding two heartslike a balloon slipping from our hands.We were driftwood lostamong a sea of spelling words and budgeting.Each confrontation was emberto a tinderbox.We were engulfed in conflictthirsting for water to soothe the flame.Consumed like gasoline ablazespreading aimlesslydevouring everything in its path.Our touch was frictionlike … Continue reading Common Ground
Porcupines
By Mike Panasitti There are days the glaring Sun weakens me, as do Egyptian geese,& goslings become prey in shallow waters. Yet otters, when they lavish whelps with affection, are a sight to see. I never feared one day I’d grow thorny or mutter, Humans can be porcupines. Everyone should know. Borderlines—get too close, it’s … Continue reading Porcupines
The cello doesn’t sleep
By Amaira Sachdev They said it was broken—left to rot in the attic,dust stitched into its seams—but at 4am, it sings.Not a tune.A whimper,like breath caughtbetween a hushand a scream.I played it once.Strings snapped like nerves.Something cold slid up my wristand whispered,“Let me show you...”Now he waits—by the mirror,behind the curtain—his smile cracked like a … Continue reading The cello doesn’t sleep
Academy of the Heart And Mind 