Ironside was a town on the edge of boiling by the time August rolled in. By the third week of the month, the earth cracked like burnt bread. Windowpanes shimmered with trapped heat. Dogs wheezed in doorways, their eyes like dull marbles. The townspeople were exhausted and frustrated by the relentless heatwave that had dragged … Continue reading August Summer Competition Fiction Winner: “What the Canvas Revealed” by Farytude
August Summer Competition Poetry Winner: “Summer at the lake” by Rita McDermott
Originally published in Bards Across the Pond. Peering downward from the sky…A painted picture of lush green trees Sprouting up from the groundLike clumps of broccoli.A green garden surrounding a still body of water Pools of diamonds sparkling on the surface Courtesy of the sun’s radiant rays.Wooden structures jutting out from the shore Invading upon … Continue reading August Summer Competition Poetry Winner: “Summer at the lake” by Rita McDermott
Winners of the August Contest
Here are the winners of our eighth 2025 Contest! The dates next to their names will be the day their work will be posted to our website. 29: Poetry Winner: Rita McDermott 30: Fiction Winner: Farytude 31: Nonfiction Winner: C. Jane Swick Thank you to everyone who entered into our contest!
Money Talks But Not To Me
By Debra J. White Money doesn’t grow on trees, nor is it in my bank account. I’m in my twilight years, recently turned seventy. I’ll probably die without a hefty stock portfolio, or wads of cash stashed underneath my bed. Just as well. I can’t take it with me beyond. Then again, no one else … Continue reading Money Talks But Not To Me
Dances With Raised Arms
By Brenda Mox The angel at the doorway moves in the wonder of worlds beyond time. Representative of some mystic glowing world of unreality, her voice rings vibrations into the soul like a trumpet, echoing in dark places of being.She shines moonlight on the darkness hovering on the edge of one’s consciousness.From the radiance of … Continue reading Dances With Raised Arms
To the Stars
By Cullin F. Morgan (Year 2151) Carl stood up from the booth and politely shook John’s hand. “Yeah, I’ll reach out! It was nice meeting you, too!” John slipped quietly out of the diner. “I’m not calling him,” said Carl under his breath, sitting back down at his table. He took a copy of Anna … Continue reading To the Stars
switching laundry at 12:09am
By Dominic Moore Faces shout my nameentering the place I played center stagebut now I perform in the audience.Rainy drive homeand a silent kiss on the cheekare my accompanying thoughts at curtain call.The walk upstairs grows longer, eventuallyreaching to the damp clothesthat have sat too long in the wash.Fistfuls of fabric enter the dryermy last … Continue reading switching laundry at 12:09am
Hardwired
By Jill Sisson There were a lot of them, a small crowd of pronghorns, shining like bits of lightning on the sagebrush hills just outside the small town of Worland, Wyoming. I was part of a three-person crew of field biologists, all of us in our mid-20s, crammed in a government rig to inventory and … Continue reading Hardwired
That Smile
By Ahming Zee The fairest day in hapless mortal’s life Is ever first to flee. --Virgil, Georgics I got laid off last summer – the act of Murphy’s Law that is said to occur at least once in a lifetime – it occurred right after I had booked my trip to Beijing to visit my … Continue reading That Smile
My Tree
By Cithara Patra My favorite tree. There are many like it around here, but this one is mine. It calls me. It’s an old friend I get to visit every day, no matter the weather. With its big branches looming over, I get all the shade I need. It protects me from the bright rays … Continue reading My Tree
Academy of the Heart And Mind 