By Frances Leitch Anchor No one did talk to me while I sunned by the sea No one did wave a hand or sing a song But all the while the waves rolled on The heart of the sea breaking endlessly upon the shore A sunny smile anchored to me Sea Legs When glancing back … Continue reading Anchor and Other Poems
Blueberry Bushes
By Dan Morrison On Sundays we’d drive across town to my grandpa’s house. He’d built it himself after some great war. There was still care there, but ever since my grandma had died things were slipping. Paint chipped, gutters leaked, and he had decided to use a broken TV as a TV stand because it … Continue reading Blueberry Bushes
Dear Jacqueline
By Amy Reece Dear Jacqueline, May I call you Jacqueline? Or would you prefer, Ms. Woodson? Either way, I find myself enchanted by your verse flowing into novels about a life I never lived Although our years align. I hear my father saying, You stay away from them. I hear my mother saying, We don’t … Continue reading Dear Jacqueline
The Dance
By Jim Bates Mom's eyes are dim with memory faded, Words come hard and the spirit is flagging. Then, one day, It is as if a song begins, And through the deep recesses of forgetfulness, There emerges a kind of light, And renewed energy. Conversation begins. Words once forgotten form. She smiles as she remembers … Continue reading The Dance
Thomas and Angry Sea
By Andrew Scott Thomas Thomas is staring out his stained window, trying to process the mess that was made. The damage done in less than six months. The exact start of the descent is blurry in Thomas’ mind. So much has done on, it runs together. Flashes of memory creep in as reminders. Little smiles … Continue reading Thomas and Angry Sea
Morning Cat and Lineage Portrait
By Datoyes Tan Morning Cat His stripes has been replaced by bands of fluorescent sunlight Looks for the weeping bird under the chair, finds only roads So looks again, inside the lion's stomach, inside the cartwheeling jets Amber eyes are drenched in gasoline tears, set on fire The sun commits arson, over the rooftop pools, … Continue reading Morning Cat and Lineage Portrait
Early Winters are the Worst and Other Poems
By Richard LeDue Early Winters are the Worst The pond where they swam away summer nights, naked and laughing at the heat, is now covered with ice, like cold eyes drowning tears, and the promise of spring just another lie they tell themselves, so they can forgive how smiles betray glances out windows or cursing … Continue reading Early Winters are the Worst and Other Poems
Nobody Comes to the Library Anymore
By Aisha Khan Smoke hung so thick in the library’s rafters that she could read words in it. She coughed and her hand reached up to the left side of her head. Her eyes were stinging, but the curiosity made her look back up. For a nanosecond, the words darkened, becoming clearer. Only a moment … Continue reading Nobody Comes to the Library Anymore
Mystic Dell
By Lamont Turner My saunter led me far to see the mocking myriads revelry, among the hoary withered trees, upon the clouded crystal seas, where sanguine spirits never dwell __ __ the twilight heart of Mystic Dell. Where heaven and hell through awe have stayed, for wonder of the acts displayed, beneath the rainbow colored … Continue reading Mystic Dell
Apple Orchard
By Joseph S. Pete As the air turned crisp, the desiccated leaves blazed with color, as they all flocked like Canadian geese to the orchard, the couple hoped to stroll down pristine rows of verdant trees all saddled with sagging boughs heavy with fresh fruit. They had envisioned bucolic grids of Instagrammable trees where they … Continue reading Apple Orchard
Academy of the Heart And Mind 