By Clara-Ève Landry Knowing my grip could not fight a force comparable to being hit by 5000 basketballs per second, I take a breath in the pocket of air created by the flat area of the raft and let myself go down the Kennebec River. “Feet up and let yourself be guided by the waves” … Continue reading Going With the Flow
For Mami
By Kaitlyn Byer moth·er noun a woman in relation to her child or children. verb bring up (a child) with care and affection. For Mami: I always loved your light bronze skin with hints of olive. I remembered it being soft as snow, as if the concept of aging simply never applied to you. Your … Continue reading For Mami
Rocky Road
By Ellen NotbohmThe door to the high school principal’s office stood open, so I nipped in to get a quick opinion on my son’s desire for a summer job. He was not yet sixteen, and possibilities didn’t seem to extend beyond fast food, which he didn’t want to do. “You have to hate your first … Continue reading Rocky Road
Not Unlike a Tūī
By Marie-Eve Bernier We made the decision on a windy day. Walking around our local park to discuss this, as we always did with important matters. After many failed opportunities to move to New Zealand, the fourth time was a go. This time it was calling loudly and there were no more excuses. Exchanging my … Continue reading Not Unlike a Tūī
Barcelona Red
By Maryanne DeLeo It’s been in my life eight years, its color long ago used up, hints of it along the walls of its gold, shiny black expensive case. Every day I dip my slender lip brush inside to get a speck of color onto my unpainted lips. Selected by a painter, “which lipstick would … Continue reading Barcelona Red
The Waves
By Jill Jepson Sunday mornings without fail, my parents packed us into the car and drove us to mass. Sacred Heart Church was just three blocks from our house, but still we drove, to make sure we arrived fresh and perfect, we girls in our prettiest dresses, little hats, short white gloves, and Sunday shoes—white … Continue reading The Waves
Sun Tzu and Entertainment: The Land Before Time’s “Easy Route”
By Andrew Nickerson Many classics have achieved long-lasting fame/influence, but it’s hard to find any such document with the track record of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, a masterpiece that’s been the text on tactics/strategy for 2,000+ years. In its pages can be found the blueprints for victory, the lone goal of any war, … Continue reading Sun Tzu and Entertainment: The Land Before Time’s “Easy Route”
Facing Death: Fear and Gifts
By C. Graham Campbell, Ph.D As a Buddhist leaning spiritual student, I wish I could tell you that looking death in the eye was a choice motivated solely because that is an important part of the path. Unfortunately, that would be less than honest. An onslaught of health issues between 2015 and 2023 required it. … Continue reading Facing Death: Fear and Gifts
The Friend
By Sharon Farnsworth And the race begins. Another Friday afternoon, and city traffic was horrific. I picked up my son from daycare and joined the throng of manic drivers, my thoughts racing faster than the traffic was moving. Forty plus hours as a Probation Officer, and I was on overload. The windshield wipers whacking the glass in a … Continue reading The Friend
The Blue-Schist Sentinels
By Celeste Wolfe Night after night, a quartet of prehistoric megaliths stand as blue-schist sentinels, on guard since the ancient era of dinosaurs into the digital era of modernity. The foursome’s enduring foundations with their unyielding weight, cutting deep into the earth, arise as if shrapnel protruding from a wound. Their stone polished faces like … Continue reading The Blue-Schist Sentinels
Academy of the Heart And Mind 