By Steve Carr When I was just a small boy and sitting on my grandmother’s knee, she told me this story so often of when she was a young girl, that I sometimes forget it was an incident in her life, and not mine. Grandma was born on a farm in upstate New York in … Continue reading On Grandma’s Knee
Life’s Colors
By Mike Turner We run through the colors of our lives The yellows of bright possibilities Lives begun, opportunities offered The greens of early success Chances taken, hopes promised The reds of passions stoked Loves encountered, yearnings ignited The blues of loss Dreams unfulfilled, accomplishments unrewarding Oranges and purples and scarlets and indigo Once viewed … Continue reading Life’s Colors
I Will Write Peace on Your Wings and You Will Fly
By George Rosas The men watch the horizon of the plains of nothingness to the northeast and trample through the dry clots of dirt that crumble beneath their cracked feet as if hiding fragile fossils in the deep that witness the birth and the death of day. The men walk with the protruding peaks of … Continue reading I Will Write Peace on Your Wings and You Will Fly
Not So Humble Pie
By Tim Law Author's Note: Piece was originally titled "The Shadow" Looking out at the many faced crowd that had filed in to fill the available seating, Eric Flute, manager of the Redfield Library and Culture Center dabbed at his shiny forehead and tried to control his nerves. Eric always found that there was a … Continue reading Not So Humble Pie
Strings of Guitars
By Ayoade Olamide Strings of guitars steal tunes from the palms of our local flutes, tainting our fabrics with imported vernacular; woven with the thread of disdain. sound waves have taken to their land – heritage crafted with our fathers’ hand in the tender soil of our dignity. we now shudder in our hut of … Continue reading Strings of Guitars
Paramnesia
By Bethany Walker I. jamais vu Tristan buttoned his wool coat against the rainy London chill, his blonde hair rustling in the wind. He no longer recognized the familiar streets of his childhood, the families that had once occupied the Marylebone flats near where he grew up had long since moved on, and young business … Continue reading Paramnesia
Bell Tower and Other Poems
By Glory Cumbow Bell Tower The church bells trick me every time their warm toll reverberates in my tummy, echoing an inviting sense of safety. Foolishly, I allow a small blossom of hope. I follow the ringing hymns into the sanctuary. Oh, the irony of that word. I crave the breaking of bread at the … Continue reading Bell Tower and Other Poems
Good Job
By Abe Margel It was the kind of hot and humid day in June that made Toronto feel like Miami. On the scorching sidewalk women in summer dresses and men in uncomfortable suits shuffled through a pair of wide wooden doors leading into the convocation hall. Inside the air-conditioned building a happy crowd was assembling. … Continue reading Good Job
Picaresque and Other Poems
By Alex Andy Phuong Picaresque Picture Picasso Painting abstractly Attempting to redefine Dreary reality Pictures worth more Than just a thousand words For words Attempt to define art Yet beauty is purely subjective And is much more Than personal opinion For pictures Sometimes just speak for themselves Virtuosity Within reality, Virtue holds value. Choose more … Continue reading Picaresque and Other Poems
Purple Orchids and Other Poems
By Jamie Nguyen Purple Orchids shutters close; wind sends branches trapezing through thick tropical air. rain’s shadowed figure’s insistent tapping against window panes, thunder knocks on doors. the avenue’s a river, the neighborhood a swamp. drum fingertips to the beat of the hurricane’s pounding. hide under covers, doors stay locked. but tucked behind the mango … Continue reading Purple Orchids and Other Poems
Academy of the Heart And Mind 