By Anthony Ward It was the third consecutive year that Jared had sat outside the church on the Eve of St. Mark with the hope of catching a vision of the phantom congregation. The only eerie event he had experienced up until then was the spectacle of a Barn Owl that had swooped, banshee like, … Continue reading The Procession
Butterflies and On an Unknown Road Just Before Dark
By Andre Swanepoel Butterflies They break upon us unrelenting As the dawn breaks like a rainbow Refracting our dewdrop-eyes That settle at once upon our love Like condescending dust confounded In beauty that fuels these monarchs that flit As thoughts between sun and shade Gathering potency On an Unknown Road Just Before Dark The sun … Continue reading Butterflies and On an Unknown Road Just Before Dark
Laugh and Other Poems
By Alex Andy Phuong Laugh Laugh, But not out loud Chuckle But do not choke Satirize Yet also harmonize Employ humor Cautiously For the sake of Uniformity Unite Us! Intel Intellectual intelligence Much more than brilliance Employing the mind And sensation To offer profound perception And empathetic perspectives Upon collective collectives That define more than … Continue reading Laugh and Other Poems
Horses Cannot Swim and Tiny Footprints of Mice
By Robyn Braun Horses Cannot Swim I wander into meadow edged by forest. In the cool morning mist, five horses graze. In the river, swimmers. I think, yes. Once in the water, I see the swimmers are horses. My mother always told me horses cannot swim, told me their thrashing hooves … Continue reading Horses Cannot Swim and Tiny Footprints of Mice
Hand
By Robyn Braun
The Bell Tower
By DC Diamondopolous Reverend Langston Penniman sat on the edge of his bed, stretching his black fingers. Everything had either twisted up on him or shrunk except his stomach. Once six-foot-five, he now plunged to six two, still tall, but not the imposing dignitary he once was standing behind the lectern in front of his … Continue reading The Bell Tower
Sliced Tomatoes
By Diane Gillespie Newly married, my husband Mike and I drove along Boskeydell Road through the hills of Southern Illinois on our way to a small farm. It was a warm summer day in 1970. Car windows open, our breaths became deeper and our bodies more relaxed as we observed the countryside, its woods and … Continue reading Sliced Tomatoes
Yellow
By Bluford Birdsong Originally published in Literary Yard Jill shuts down the treadmill after running three eight minute miles, proud of herself and thankful for a couple of hours alone. Still panting, she opens the stainless steel door of the new fridge and grabs a blue shaker bottle of branch-chain amino acids. The Tahitian Punch … Continue reading Yellow
House of Gold and Nothing But Smiles Over Here
By Sekani Johnson House of Gold So ashamed am I of being such an intolerable guest in people’s (now stranger’s?) lives Burrowing into portraits of fatigued specters cold vapors swaying like cacti hovering over chimneys buried in the loamy earth of a dark warren Their bodies shed the lighter gemini and shy into bramble patches … Continue reading House of Gold and Nothing But Smiles Over Here
Septic Shock and Other Poems
By Marie Menta Septic Shock Sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, your trembling hand in mine. Your pounding heart is quickening. blood pressure dropping. Septic shock. Again. I gently stroke your 13 years-old cheek, that nestled in my breast before becoming sick. Body weak. The chemo that destroyed the cancer in your blood, … Continue reading Septic Shock and Other Poems
Academy of the Heart And Mind 