By Rakev Gemechu We sit in a circle, arms folded tight,feet beating the earth like it owes us something.The sun isn't gentle; it burns our soles darker,carves white lines across skin like old scars. My feet, still smooth, hide under my dress,streaked with morning mud, tucked away like secrets. Others don’t hide theirs. Toenails gone, … Continue reading Glory to Him
The Endless Day
By Penny Nolte The station is packed and no wonder. Our train is delayed because of the storm and no one knows when it will get through, that’s good news for us because otherwise we’d have missed it. The trip is my present, because I hate to fly. We are taking a sleeper car all … Continue reading The Endless Day
The Next Step
By Holly Day I keep starting sentences with “When this is all over”acknowledging that there will be a future when everything is normal againwhen I don’t have to worry about touching or hugging my friendswhen I can see my parents again, face to faceand not just as flickering images on my computer screen.I keep finishing … Continue reading The Next Step
A Life of Stimulation
By Shinsaku Ashida Beneath the snowlies a lifeone prefers not to see.Unwanted feelings—numbedby stronger sensations.The wrongness is clear.Clothing grows vivid,loud in color,but not fitfor the winter mountains.Even when reachingthrough snow,the mountain’s surfacemay stillremain untouched.Still,the mountain seensince childhoodstands unchangedtonight.And when spring comes,turning awaywill no longer be possible. Shinsaku Ashida is a Japanese poet whose work centers on … Continue reading A Life of Stimulation
Le Chat Noir
By Emily Gennis It was the kind of night that creeps up on soft, silent paws, and has its claws in you before you even know it's there. I was in my usual spot on the windowsill, watching a squirrel bury its loot and muttering all the things I’d do to it if I ever … Continue reading Le Chat Noir
Sunset at the Red Arrow Grille
By Joseph Carrabis Angie watched the old couple take booth 7. They sat on either side of the table, reached across and held hands. She sized them up quickly and smiled: dressed for Fall weather in old, well-worn, but clean clothes. Probably limited income, just got their checks. This is their big time out this … Continue reading Sunset at the Red Arrow Grille
Afternoon Tea with Anne Hathaway
By Sarah Wolfe I know a place. Take a left off the main road then part the evergreens to find the hidden little white gate. Follow the little gray steppingstone path. Bluejays will escort you to the tea party. Sighing winds will bring you summer notes of creamy gardenias. Chattering white rabbits will announce your … Continue reading Afternoon Tea with Anne Hathaway
The Bandit
By Fred Klein A rider came through the nightly mist up the deer path to the hillside campsite. An armed guard challenged the rider. “Stop, who are you?” “I am Miquel from Anaheim. I seek the great bandit, Pedro Ortez,” said Miquel. The guard replied, “Why do you seek him?” “I have a message from … Continue reading The Bandit
June Micro Memoir Contest: Gold Winner: “Ghosts of Guayabas” by Evangeline Sanchez
My Abuelita takes great pride in her garden, in the trees she tends to. They grow tall, bright, and abundant like the family she created. Plump pomegranates overflow in buckets, purple figs swell and hang right above our heads, small limes cluster like tiles in a mosaic of green among verdant leaves, and aromatic guayabas … Continue reading June Micro Memoir Contest: Gold Winner: “Ghosts of Guayabas” by Evangeline Sanchez
June Micro Memoir Contest: Silver Winner: “What’s Eternal?” by William Hong
“Aja! Aja!” Moving his arms, tanned and burly from extended periods of labor but simultaneously frail and wrinkly towards the tips of his old fingers, my Grandpa, in his mid-seventies, clapped his hands to and fro with a cheery tone of encouragement as he briskly climbed up the half-paved mountainous path. Dragging my feet along … Continue reading June Micro Memoir Contest: Silver Winner: “What’s Eternal?” by William Hong
Academy of the Heart And Mind 