By Jim Bates After the snowstormWinter's soft gentle beautySnow on evergreens.At the skating rinkHappy folks spin and swirlA winter ballet.Big cold moon risingMoonlight streaming brilliantlyIcy land sparkling.Bright morning sunBirds flit through snow covered treesSinging merrily. Jim lives in a small town twenty miles west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His stories have appeared online in CafeLit, The Writers' Cafe … Continue reading Four Winter Haiku
Bravado
By Anthony David Vernon The measure of a man is respectWeighted in how he fights for his womanAnd how he earns his keepAt least that’s what my brother told meMan is expected respectSo he cannot back down from a burden placed before himBut the weight is so much to bareAnd it seems easier and kinderTo … Continue reading Bravado
The Bird
By Shirina Lee Edwin Elicia Burton settled into her regular spot at The Union Cafe, a corner table that offered an unobstructed view of the busy street in front of her. It was impossible for her to forego her daily journey to The Union. As a produce buyer at Whole Foods across town, it was … Continue reading The Bird
From Yonder Comes
By Joe Ducato Lopez dragged his cello case down the sidewalk. He passed some boys running through gushing water from a fire hydrant then the aroma shop where the calico cat was on the fence, its tail swaying like the pendulum of a grandfather’s clock. Not so far away sunlight blanketed the side of the … Continue reading From Yonder Comes
My Poetry is Blue
By Mike Turner My poetry is blueLike the vaulting summer skyFleecy clouds and warming sunThe winds on which to flyMy poetry is blueLike the bounding, endless seaSails of white and gold beach sandsCast off, and voyaging freeMy poetry is blueLike the depths of wan despairThough faith, longing, endurance, hopeGive us some comfort thereMy poetry is … Continue reading My Poetry is Blue
In My Own Little World
By Samanyu Kotha In my own little world,Exiled by my mind,Into the depths of imagination,Here I lie beyond time and space,I rest in a limbo, without a trace,I think I’m so strong,So powerful and all-knowing,Little do I know that I’m fooling myself,You’re insane they say,Get a better hobby,Here in my mind,I seek to be surreal,What … Continue reading In My Own Little World
Silence Deeper Than Words
By Richard LeDue The voices from my youth,which I believed would never change,nor sink in the silence deeper than words one calls a poem,are gone now, dispelled like doubtthat keeps a person from saying wordsbeyond a polite hello,and the cricket songs from past summer nightsmake poor metaphors for timelessness,even if eight hours of sleep finds … Continue reading Silence Deeper Than Words
In My Will
By Michael Lee Johnson In my will, there will be a pinball machine.A renovated jukebox from American Pickers,a cable TV show. For the taverns, bars, and basements of fun seekers for thosewho long to be free and ferocious.I no longer fear death.Empty vodka bottle by my bed.A dusty Bible underlinedJesus’ messages in red. Michael Lee … Continue reading In My Will
A Day In The Life
By Hailey Huber 3 a.m.: She cries. A sound that breaks the bubble of the world, so soft and delicate. 4 a.m.: She wakes. The blanket closes around her as she twists and turns. The wooden bars melt away as hands come down from the sky. 5 a.m.: She walks. Cameras capture her from every … Continue reading A Day In The Life
Winter Competition Fiction Winner: “Philosophy of Snow” by Gary Hardy
It was 6 am. I sipped from a mug of hot coffee while I looked out our bay window. Night lingered in the air and held down the colors of dawn from blooming. Glowing streetlights made the dim snowflakes glisten as they turned in their slanted fall and windows of flurries were held in suspense … Continue reading Winter Competition Fiction Winner: “Philosophy of Snow” by Gary Hardy
Academy of the Heart And Mind 