By Bethany Walker I. jamais vu Tristan buttoned his wool coat against the rainy London chill, his blonde hair rustling in the wind. He no longer recognized the familiar streets of his childhood, the families that had once occupied the Marylebone flats near where he grew up had long since moved on, and young business … Continue reading Paramnesia
Bell Tower and Other Poems
By Glory Cumbow Bell Tower The church bells trick me every time their warm toll reverberates in my tummy, echoing an inviting sense of safety. Foolishly, I allow a small blossom of hope. I follow the ringing hymns into the sanctuary. Oh, the irony of that word. I crave the breaking of bread at the … Continue reading Bell Tower and Other Poems
Good Job
By Abe Margel It was the kind of hot and humid day in June that made Toronto feel like Miami. On the scorching sidewalk women in summer dresses and men in uncomfortable suits shuffled through a pair of wide wooden doors leading into the convocation hall. Inside the air-conditioned building a happy crowd was assembling. … Continue reading Good Job
Crazophobia
By LKB Boe I coined a word today—crazophobia. Crazophobia is the fear of contracting a mental illness by being in close proximity to or touching a mentally ill person, or by hearing scary stories about the mentally ill. The common cure is to ridicule, ostracize, or otherwise demean the mentally ill person in order to … Continue reading Crazophobia
Picaresque and Other Poems
By Alex Andy Phuong Picaresque Picture Picasso Painting abstractly Attempting to redefine Dreary reality Pictures worth more Than just a thousand words For words Attempt to define art Yet beauty is purely subjective And is much more Than personal opinion For pictures Sometimes just speak for themselves Virtuosity Within reality, Virtue holds value. Choose more … Continue reading Picaresque and Other Poems
Purple Orchids and Other Poems
By Jamie Nguyen Purple Orchids shutters close; wind sends branches trapezing through thick tropical air. rain’s shadowed figure’s insistent tapping against window panes, thunder knocks on doors. the avenue’s a river, the neighborhood a swamp. drum fingertips to the beat of the hurricane’s pounding. hide under covers, doors stay locked. but tucked behind the mango … Continue reading Purple Orchids and Other Poems
The Happy Wanderer
By Bruce Costello The sky is vast, the stars numinous, the moon low. The trees, asleep, are listening through their leaves though they make neither movement, nor sound. Fields, bathed in silver, stretch to dark hills with here and there a glint of creek or pond. The first ray of the sun travels through my … Continue reading The Happy Wanderer
Whispers in the Mists
By Leonie Rauber The fog is alive and it whispers to me. Its voices are everywhere, encasing me like the billowing vapor that makes the mists. I step forward, and the fog parts as if I were Moses and it the Red Sea. But it swirls, settles on my arms and fingers and face and … Continue reading Whispers in the Mists
As the Sunset Shifts from a Cool White to Umber Orange, Birds are Dying
By Keith Hoerner No wind flows Through wingspan No lift Force No air- Foil Aves find Themselves As thrown Stones Beaks raking Earth like plows To sow dying swan Songs *Golden Seeds* *Feathered Prayers* *Sacred Supplication* To germinate and Grow And even perhaps— Soar again Keith Hoerner lives, teaches, and pushes words around in Southern … Continue reading As the Sunset Shifts from a Cool White to Umber Orange, Birds are Dying
My Garden
By P. Oscar Cubillos I have orange, pink, and red roses many colors and shapes of tulips gladiolus, nasturtium and peonies; blue irises, lilacs and crepe myrtles. I like the soft smell of the roses, tomatoes’ smell is very different but still pleasant; tarragon, basil and mint; thyme, oregano and chive remind me of a … Continue reading My Garden
Academy of the Heart And Mind 