By Daniel W. Brown We trowel in moist brown earthmist holds dawn to the green leaves of seedlings we plant placed just soin improvised fashionby annual practiceour knees ache when planting peppers,early arrivers, ripening green maturing as cathedral red bellsa geography of purplegreen Italian and Thai basilsfor colorful spiced August pestojourneys of Japanese tri-colored and … Continue reading Planting
Wordsmith
By Mehreen Ahmed Water and oil don’t mix. Not much use trying to fix. Determined, not to form a new word out of a suffix. To create a poem seamlessly; a poet is to transcend, from the mundaneness most likely; wordsmithing may take place to one’s fancy.In a poem contrarily;the poet then must blend in … Continue reading Wordsmith
Uncommon Valor and Song from Heaven, Piercing Hell
By Douglas J. Lanzo Uncommon Valor “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Admiral Chester Nimitz of our men who fought on Iwo Jima Standing before the flagraised atop Mount Suribachia marine did ask mewhether I had any questions:I nodded, and heard sounds, saw scenes,of men and carnage, primal screams,of death and valor, heroes downed,marines cut … Continue reading Uncommon Valor and Song from Heaven, Piercing Hell
The Decision
By Brian Connelly “What am I doing?” he thought to himself as he peered aimlessly out of the bus window. The bus rattled its way across the dusty road, crawling across miles and miles of desert. He wondered, at times, whether the bus had taken a wrong turn and, rather than inform everyone and backtrack, … Continue reading The Decision
The Deluge
By Brenda Mox Dark skies full of lightningflashing like a strobeas clouds blinkand rain runs in sheetsagainst window panesthen drips to puddles that sinkin sandy loamwhere grass blades holdthe deluge.Gale force winds,strong and unwavering,wield bent lances clashing like thunderthrough strobe blinking cloudsdropping blankets of rainin a banshee danceover hills and plains. Brenda Mox is a … Continue reading The Deluge
Lost Footage
By Hannah Andrews In the summer that followed the summer of loveSweet Chicago smoldered, Ensconced in ashesLeft dreamless over a lost KingHopeless after another lost KennedyAnd yet, amidst a seeming apocalypseIn that slow-broiling chaos of ‘68Boy met girl as they are prone to do And together Tumbled intoSomething akin to, in the neighborhood, of love. … Continue reading Lost Footage
Time Slows in a World of Our Own
By Olivia Benson Time feels irrelevant when compared to the minute ticking of our hearts. A beating love, a tired clock. Tomorrow I will leave again, and today is only a couple hours strong. We stay up to get drunk and watch each other laugh. I forget my responsibility to time, and you are bewildered … Continue reading Time Slows in a World of Our Own
Loneliness
By Liz Sorora As the wind blows the leaves awayI left with it go a silent prayA day to come that you will be missingAnd your silent ghost won't be reminiscingAlone to be as out and withinYour haunting voice no longer echoingYet if that happens, what would I beWithout your soul resting in meEmpty with … Continue reading Loneliness
Well-Water
By Lauren Goulette Now wringing up well-water where we brushed ourold mouse’s ashes across. He wasthere and we loved himwhen he still lapped it up. Black-tail on his bloated body slushedwhen we found him. We drinkgallons of well-water and leavean orange-ring around ourmouths when it’s dryand can’t bother to fillanother bucket. This houseis eaten alive … Continue reading Well-Water
Infinite Blue and Other Poems
By T.F. Jennings Infinite Blue I don’t understand any of it.The moon, the ocean, this spinning rock. You name it. We sit overlooking the coastline high up on a knoll that was made seemingly just for us.The sun hangs in its usual mooringslike an ornate figurehead spilling its soupy light into the water below. A … Continue reading Infinite Blue and Other Poems
Academy of the Heart And Mind 