Only now, as what I treasure about Thanksgivingis no longer possible,only now do I realize that the important aspect of celebratingthis holiday has always been changing,year after year, decade after decade.As a child, it was to have playtime with my cousins.Then as a teenager in love, it was to spend time with mysweetheart and her … Continue reading November “The Thursdays” Contest: Gold Winner: “We Gather Together” by Clarence Heller
November “The Thursdays” Contest: Silver Winner: “The Long November” by Ken Gosse
Dontcha just hate when Thanksgiving is latebecause Friday the First means the calendar’s cursedbut you’re so hurly-burly you start a week earlythen sit at the table and wait, wait, wait, wait! Ken Gosse usually writes short, rhymed verse using whimsy and humor with traditional meters. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, his … Continue reading November “The Thursdays” Contest: Silver Winner: “The Long November” by Ken Gosse
November “The Thursdays” Contest: Bronze Winner: “Pets” by Oleg Daugovish
The camp fire dies down, and so does the conversation. The darkness blacks out the imperfections of the dusty Californian chaparral. Under the Big Tree, four slumped silhouettes sit, dissolving the week’s worries with cold brews. “Woof, woof, woof!” cry chops the stillness, urgency increasing with every bark. “Where’s that dog’s owner?” Maura’s logic becomes … Continue reading November “The Thursdays” Contest: Bronze Winner: “Pets” by Oleg Daugovish
13 Days of Halloween: All Hallows’ Eve by Nina Dinan
When russet leaves begin to fall,When light retreats and west winds blow,When shaken coals begin to glowAnd play with shadows on the wall,Sliced apples bubble in a pot,The wind relays the scent of smoke,The sticks and bellows blow and poke,And hearth flames catch a dimming spot. They say a veil of gossamerHangs just beyond the … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: All Hallows’ Eve by Nina Dinan
13 Days of Halloween: I’m Not Afraid of the Dark by K.R. Moore
With a hiss, the TV hosting an unsaved video game cut out along with the rest of the house as a boy who dozed off while playing slowly came to. “The lights went out again?” 9-year-old Andy Watkins had fallen asleep in the basement yet again only to wake up past one in the morning … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: I’m Not Afraid of the Dark by K.R. Moore
13 Days of Halloween: Hallows’ Eve by Elanur Williams
Within, a haunted life - shadows and hidden rooms loom against the full moon'ssilver glow, inviting in winged spirits of the night. Elanur Williams is an educator based in New York City, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Her work has previously been published in Eunoia Review, 3Elements, The Ekphrastic Review, Feminism and Religion, … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: Hallows’ Eve by Elanur Williams
13 Days of Halloween: The Tree by Ciaran McLarnon
On dark evenings, Eoin could hear their voices through his living-room window. He was sure they were in his house while he slept; their high-pitched drawl filled his nights. When he rose each morning, he was confronted with the most persuasive evidence. There was butter sliding down the walls of his kitchen, rashers of raw … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: The Tree by Ciaran McLarnon
13 Days of Halloween: His Coffin’s Last Tale by Ken Gosse
On his next and last voyage he would pay the full fare.As a passenger now, he found he didn’t careto chase whales or kowtow to a ship tyrant’s ordersor bunk with the crew down below in close quarters,nor climb up the mast like he’d done far too often—the ship far below looking like a small … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: His Coffin’s Last Tale by Ken Gosse
13 Days of Halloween: Flint by William Swanger
I heard something rustle close by, but I was in my invincible teens and so pondered no further whether deer, fox, raccoon or suspicious person was paralleling my course through the cornstalks. Besides, I was on a mission, my hand clutching a bag of flint corn. My friend had brought the corn to our meetup. … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: Flint by William Swanger
13 Days of Halloween: Residents Unearthed by Bernardo Villela
I In the cold ground necrotic skin quavers,those lain in gravebeds sleep uneasylifespans end when light is snuffed outbut humanity’s undying fire can reignite the living dead.The afterlife’s cycles occur in light-time.The dead’s centennial reawakening is a needed respite for the long gone and reluctantly departedin local mausoleums and those wind-scattered.Resurfacing, a drowned man waltzes;reintegrating, … Continue reading 13 Days of Halloween: Residents Unearthed by Bernardo Villela
Academy of the Heart And Mind 