The Invisible speaks You said you wanted to hear all of the grotesquely fascinating details and clichés Like the bright red inside of the earliest morning, so early it’s almost still night And the abysmal bed of wet and dirt, so dirty it’s almost hard and then her pure cunning, so bad it’s almost good … Continue reading The Invisible Speaks and Other Poems by Erika Kamlert
The Value of a Sidearm Pitcher
By John Affleck It began when I was sitting alone at the Twins-Mets game. No minder, no driver. I’d sent them off to lunch. He sat down next to me in the stands, and I mean right next to me. He recognizably walked up the stairs and down the row — did not shuffle, did … Continue reading The Value of a Sidearm Pitcher
Dinnertime Dogma
By Carol Glick The other night, Shankar Vedantam from NPR's Hidden Brain paddled down the iPhone-podcast stream and docked at my dining room table. I welcomed Mr. Vendantam. He demanded nothing of me other than an open mind and a listening ear. His digital presence removed the pressure to social distance. Best of all, the … Continue reading Dinnertime Dogma
Catechism Lesson
By John Affleck When Monsignor Sweeney visits our fifth-grade classroom, everybody gets geeked up, even more than when we’re in Sister Madeline’s English class. Usually, we get about 30 minutes notice, like an air raid, before Sweeney shows up. Our homeroom teacher, Sister Noreen, announces the visit in a formal tone — we’re lucky enough … Continue reading Catechism Lesson
Poems by Mark O. Decker
Always We Want More To hear, in the winds, the sounds of riches, is to begin wanting, aching, for more wealth, more riches; but, what are riches to a man who has everything that is important; They are nothing, mere specs of sand in the proverbial hourglass of time; Only the fool drops his real … Continue reading Poems by Mark O. Decker
Running to Find the Me in Me
By Elizabeth Sams I feel disconnected and dismayed/ on this roller coaster ride/ but you love roller coasters/ what I thought/ we were going to do today/ in my milky way of thought/ is not what you thought/ and that seems/ to happen so often now/ the disconnect/ the complexity/ the widening river running through/ the dissonance/ … Continue reading Running to Find the Me in Me
Poems by Mark O. Decker
I Will Bring Joy I want to sing, a song of life, and rhyme the words that fly like kites from mind to page, and page to mind; I want to bring the joy I know, to all I love, so I can show how deeply moved i am that you are here with me, … Continue reading Poems by Mark O. Decker
Drama & Drama 2
By Thomas R. Bates DRAMA Again I go to the park To try and photograph A singing Song Sparrow, A passing Myrtle Warbler, or A tiny Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. Waiting a while for something to Happen, something finally does. Overhead I hear a tremendous Ruckus and a flapping of wings And see a pair of aggressive … Continue reading Drama & Drama 2
Poems by Michael Lee Johnson
Flower Girl (V2) (Tears in Your Eyes) Poems are hard to create they live, then die, walk alone in tears, resurrect in family mausoleums. They walk with you alone in ghostly patterns, memories they deliver feeling unexpectedly through the open windows of strangers. Silk roses lie in a potted bowl memories seven days before Mother’s Day. … Continue reading Poems by Michael Lee Johnson
Waiting in Line
By Nancy Lou Henderson A long line of people stretched ahead of Jess. The people in front of her seemed not to be moving, but she did not care because her mind was busy remembering her journey to get here. Had she done enough, and was she ready? Should she get out of the line … Continue reading Waiting in Line
Academy of the Heart And Mind 