By Karlo Sevilla Shiny and New Offering Government opens the expressway to the long-suffering public weary of traffic. Its silver sheen metallic, flanked by divine green. A papal ferula lain across bustling cities and sleepy towns. The entire scenery of soft sunlight, baptismal – united in spirit with the landscape of Jordan River two millenniums … Continue reading Shiny and New Offering and Other Poems
Excised Stanzas and Lines
By Thomas Page Workshopping poetry means that many poems have their words excised to make them better. The original poems these came from may see the light of day but for now these excised stanzas and lines will be put on display. 1 Sweat glossed necks roll Turning curious heads looking At fenders crushed. Smiles … Continue reading Excised Stanzas and Lines
Different Shades
By Jimmy Webb Rose puts her music on low. Lays out her pencils. Greys on the left, colours on the right. The afternoon sun beams onto the drawing, like a spotlight. Perfect. She peers out of the window and smiles. There’s no car on the drive. No disturbances. Mum is out at lunch with her … Continue reading Different Shades
A Canadian Tragedy
By Sherry Wong But your profile says… A friend of mine helped me with the profile. She actually changed it for me. With my old profile, nobody ever contacted me. I may as well not exist. So, this friend suggested that I modify my profile a little bit. It helped, didn’t it? I got your … Continue reading A Canadian Tragedy
So Much Water, So Far From Home
By Ewa Mazierska Of all stories by Raymond Carver, ‘So Much Water So Close To Home’ is my favourite, because, with its simple dialogue, it pictures moral conflict around people’s attitude to death. It shows a group of pragmatic men on a fishing expedition who find the naked body of a young woman, floating in … Continue reading So Much Water, So Far From Home
Nature Hour
By Connie Woodring It is 4:30pm and time for nature hour. We set our appetizers of fried calamari and shrimp cocktail next to our martinis, relax in our favorite back porch lounge chairs and wait for the show to begin. Our first act is the yellow and black butterfly. No, I don’t know its Latin … Continue reading Nature Hour
The Aspidistra and The Mock Turtle Soup
By Mike Paterson-Jones The letter that came in the post was intriguing. The envelope was pale green and was addressed in the most beautiful handwriting. Inside was an invitation to dinner with Robert de Morgan on a date two weeks hence at ‘Rogues Manor’. We had only just bought the farm in the Eastern Mountains … Continue reading The Aspidistra and The Mock Turtle Soup
Respite
By Allan Lake So warm inside the medical centre. Padded chairs, clean toilets, TV, chilled water. Nobody asks why I’m here. Receptionists don’t notice me so my invisibility is working today. As their title suggests they’re paid to receive not to sort out those with appointments and those who need a warm, dry place to … Continue reading Respite
Thesaurus and Other Poems
By Allen Guest Thesaurus A thesaurus would eventually lead me to “dappled,” the way the sunlight plays on the lawn as the trees – a poplar, two sweetgum, a red maple – sway in a light breeze on a cool morning in early May. But dappled does not really capture it. “Magically dappled?” No. This … Continue reading Thesaurus and Other Poems
Watching Cricket with My Father
By R.B. Simpson Unsurprisingly, and like all my fellow boarders, the highlight of our school year was the Christmas holidays, straight after we had written our last end-of-year exam. Six weeks of unrestricted mayhem lay before us! We would rip our ties off and would be playing a last game of touch rugby on the … Continue reading Watching Cricket with My Father
Academy of the Heart And Mind 