By Violet SH In the dead of night, in a damp, ice-cold meat packing factory far removed from society, hung hundreds of dead, soulless bodies of all backgrounds and genders. A young woman named Alice wore black jeans and a white tank top with no shoes. She hung like everyone else in the factory: by … Continue reading New Tools
Mount Shasta
By Fred Klein Edgar raised his goggles and looked over the valley, and it appeared the wind was taking his new sausage-shaped balloon to the east nearer to the mountains. He was at the helm of his open gondola. “Hans, open the hydrogen gas valve and lower us down slowly to 200 feet according to … Continue reading Mount Shasta
An Odyssey and Other Poems
By Paulette Calasibetta An Odyssey on a cold and blustery autumn day the sky is painted a steely gray, flocks of migrant birds take flight, a chartered course far from sight. lines of towering leafless trees bow and bend, submitting to the chilly breeze. Mosaics of Autumn Apple pickers gaily riding in wagons, sipping cider … Continue reading An Odyssey and Other Poems
Three Wishes
By Carolyn Mamchur Walking alone on a craggy beach, my bare foot catches on something metal. A drop of blood on gray sand. When I rub my aching fingers against the object, vessel shaped, I feel barnacles of grime covering ancient letters etched in copper. I yearn to read what is written, but I cannot. … Continue reading Three Wishes
three am and Other Poems
By Hannah Kulick three am it’s three am & stale coffee runs through our hands. we own the night. it’s the stars as seen from a truck bed in a yellow-grass valley, the rain as it leaves dark beads on foggy glass, the wind as it shrieks, lifting branches, rustling greens. sleeping forms coat the … Continue reading three am and Other Poems
Our First Night in the Country
By Detlef W. Wieck I was five and a half, my sister Margaret, seven, when our father died. Our mother, Mary, at forty-four, was afraid of the prospects of raising two children without a husband to share the burden and to earn a living. After a proper mourning period, she set out to find another … Continue reading Our First Night in the Country
Patience and Other Poems
By Holly Payne-Strange Patience Patience Is a hunger sated. It is the smooth and graceful Arc of ice skaters. Fictionless Confident Steady. It is a deep breath Before walking on stage. A declaration That come what may, You will wait. Even if the path before you is not entirely clear. It is an invitation For … Continue reading Patience and Other Poems
Blue and Green Music
By Barry Glynn It had been a long, cold night. My father woke me up at around two in the morning. He’d returned from checking the cows and found a heifer that was struggling in labor. He said simply, “I need you to wake up and help me with a cow.” I took a moment … Continue reading Blue and Green Music
Us and Mirror
By Arpita Singh Us Sometimes I want to destroy the beautiful things, Rip ‘em open and bare ‘em wide, Demystify the world’s truth as a lot has not been seen, Me and you, we have been unseen for so long, We are breathing fire today, as oxygen has been destroyed, No human has survived the … Continue reading Us and Mirror
A Little Boost
By Eric Vanderwall A young blonde guy wearing expensive wireless earbuds failed to rise from his back squat. I looked over from the adjacent half-rack, not sure whether or how to help. His shirt was neon green and his face was young and smooth. He dumped the bar on the safety arms—he was in a … Continue reading A Little Boost
Academy of the Heart And Mind 