By Jim Bates Purple ConeflowerMonarch butterfly alightsDouble delightful.After somber rainPretty morning glories bloomUnexpected gift.Belief they will growCarrot seeds planted with careFaith in Nature's hands.Woodland stream flowingWhispering sweet trickling songsNature's lullaby. Jim lives in a small-town twenty miles west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His stories and poems have appeared in over three hundred publications. “Resilience” a collection … Continue reading Four Spring Haiku
The Child Who Lived in Books
By Elanur Williams I am looking for that bright-eyed childwhose words whispered spells hidden between the shelves, who spent afternoons scavenging the tall stacks for stories, leavesrustling in the half-light. Elanur Williams is a teacher who has taught in elementary schools and at adult learning centers. She writes from New York, where she lives with her … Continue reading The Child Who Lived in Books
Where I find my poems
By Oliver Kleyer At the bottom Of my teacup. Between the lines Of my diary. In all the places thatI go to when I sleep. In a bird’s nest In the forest.On the wings ofThe year’s first butterfly.In the pages ofMy old fairy tale book. In the mirror Of your eyes. Oliver Kleyer is a … Continue reading Where I find my poems
Sleep Eludes Me
By Michael De Rosa Sleep eludes me.Every minute seems to have more than sixty seconds.Seconds take their time to slide away.The night is still, but not my mind.Katydids had ceased their chirping.But not the buzzing of my thoughts.Reliving the worst of times.All my shortcomings, failures. In all their color and sound.Did I really say that, … Continue reading Sleep Eludes Me
Fox Robe
By John Ziegler She called it the fox robe which it wasn’t.I found it in the steamer trunk in her atticwrapped in brown butcher paper.It was more of a blanket.Eight fox pelts with glass eyes, a hint of fine yellow teeth.Unrolled, it released the aroma of moth ballsintended to prevent moths from eating the foxes.The … Continue reading Fox Robe
Broken
By Cynthia Pitman My bones ache, cracked by emptiness.I long to be lowered into a bath of soothing nectarfrom the wild honeysuckle.I will vine to the skyand sprout leaves of spring green.From my vine will blossomtiny, white-petaled flowers divine – flowers with a pink-tipped kiss withinand with pollen-topped stamensstained gold from an alchemist’s rain.When the … Continue reading Broken
Bear the Pomegranate
By V.T. Wes When in contempt for the other, they will sit across from each other in an isolated room on leather sofas. The room is minimal in use. A radio fills the atmosphere with static as frost collects on the chilled window. A portrait hangs above each person, catching the little light melting inside. … Continue reading Bear the Pomegranate
Icy Prison
By Erni-Szakács Szilárd Icy Prison It was a bleak winter day. Just like every other day on Jarvistensaari, the even more northern island of the northern hemisphere. The island did not have too many inhabitants; it was home to only some children and their parents. Perhaps it was better that there were only a few … Continue reading Icy Prison
The Blank Page
By Steve Cristinzio Kevin is a writer. Kevin spends much of his time writing stories. Everywhere he goes, he carries a notebook with him in case inspiration strikes. Every so often, his stories turn out quite good. Sometimes they don't, though the quality of his work never mattered to him. He revels in the joy … Continue reading The Blank Page
Pigeon and Dove – II
By Dr. Vahidhusen Sayyad Originally published in "My Son & Other Poems" A pigeon has fallen in love.Not with a pigeon but a dove.They are so different from each otherBut not departed from one another.They talk the same love language.Their feelings no one can discourage. Though none around them can accept.The world cannot understand their … Continue reading Pigeon and Dove – II
Academy of the Heart And Mind 