By Frank Kowal Billy’s mother was struggling to catch her breath. She had just dodged four lanes of fast-moving city traffic and was now holding onto an old public phone across the street from her building. But because a growing crowd was staring at her—she was wearing a bare-shouldered, sparkling red, floor-length evening gown—she kept … Continue reading The Nightmare in the Sky
The Practice
By Jim Woessner With great difficulty an old man climbs a creek bank carrying a large stone that looks as if it weighs twenty pounds. Although he walks slowly and bends at the waist, he appears relatively fit for someone in his eighties. His short white hair and stubby beard accentuate the deep lines in … Continue reading The Practice
Cosmic Wildflowers
By Susan H. Evans The freshly-tilled plot appeared unpromising -- uneven, furrowed rows with big clods of dirt, weeds, and grass poking out from under the lumps like wobbly rows of buried Friar’s heads. I unsealed the Cosmo’s packet, and sprinkled the infinitesimal black dots haphazardly atop the furrows, not bothering to rake the ground … Continue reading Cosmic Wildflowers
Seeking the Color of the Shadows
By Chitra Gopalakrishnan I sit with old and young relatives in Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, in the south of India, in my aunt Radha’s home, or rather on her balmy thinnai, her long and wide red oxide porch, its polish alive and glistening at a level of perfection that can be achieved only by hundreds … Continue reading Seeking the Color of the Shadows
Heart
By I.G. It was in the heart of New York City where I lost my mind and, yet to find the contract I signed I have got the southern hospitality of a country land living closely with grace from dignity's hand Out in the distance I keep an eye on misery's demand for memories like … Continue reading Heart
Grate Garden
By Alex Andy Phuong A man stepped out into the sunlight. Dawn had just came about, and then this person felthis feet upon the grass. Unfortunately, there were many weeds scattered throughout the lawn.The man toiled the soil, yet remembered the beauty of the Earth. Through love and care, thisman felt connected to the land, … Continue reading Grate Garden
In Your Eyes
By Blue Carrisole In your eyes I exploit the warm barriers of pessimism Its my comfort place, My safe space And now, its glow rains on my face As I dance on the blades of its malice In your eyes I’m anointed the cold colours of truth Because I shriek at the touch Of the … Continue reading In Your Eyes
Become Transhuman and Other Poems
By Strider Marcus Jones Become Transhuman mop my stain of thoughts from their existence, before they grow too old and follow me, into disrepair and rigid ways- but leave one drop of luminous ribosome to feed its reason if i choose to let mortality become transhuman, then i, so acting shaped to mime and mummer … Continue reading Become Transhuman and Other Poems
The Ambulance Chasers
By Kevin Hibshman Story 3: Lighting Strikes! Summer was prime time for my sister, our friend Brenda and I. We were the ambulance chasers, running after the sirens and flashing lights. When the town fire siren began booming, we'd run to the end of our street where we could watch the emergency equipment roll out. … Continue reading The Ambulance Chasers
Backyard Murder and Other Poems
By Eve Rifkah Backyard Murder though he knows he wants to fly see the world from the sky the pinpricks of life below no, it’s the voices, the way they call to each other the leader going ahead watching for those that follow making sure the rest keep up and the kids the yearlings the … Continue reading Backyard Murder and Other Poems
Academy of the Heart And Mind 