By Emma Woodford Lydia green fronds a little brittle maneuvered carefully into place branches gently straightened out. Re-placed and pushed down, half a can of water doused whispering a loving chant. Bay tree planted, mold two holes and fold in roots. His ancestor lives in Brittany, kilometers from here, first planted in … Continue reading Roots
Birds at the Seashore
By Pat St. Pierre
Dreams
By Rajnish Mishra My father is a dreamer, has always been. Only now his dreams have enlarged spheres. Even then, back then, he dreamed a lot and talked of his dreams, of a suave move, a shrewd plan, a sure guide, ‘for dummies’ to the treasure at the end of the rainbow. Times … Continue reading Dreams
Then I Left
By Rajnish Mishra, I come home after years and carry bribes along: bribes for minds to remember, to remind me the forgotten me. I carry chocolates for all. Death is of two kinds: permanent or temporary removal from a world. In my world of past I’m dead. I’m dead, nearly, for many. I’m dead … Continue reading Then I Left
Tricks Language Plays
By Rajnish Mishra My daughter, eight, looked at me with eyes: half-enquiring, half-afraid, eyes with faith, half, at least, and asked suddenly: Are we born again after death? I looked at my wife. Our eyes met. She smiled: that corners of the eyes, so-it-did-happen smile, and I knew it was not she who dropped a … Continue reading Tricks Language Plays
Post-Work Remains Left
I forgot the applewood bacon in the work fridge. My mother sleeps on the couch as infomercials promising or your money-back guarantee sins blast like music during a tumbling event. There isn't a single Z for shut-eye for me to borrow this evening, I sweated them out in eight-and-a-half hour aisle increments, but I'll get 'em back … Continue reading Post-Work Remains Left
Six months in
by John Page Hi, Everyone! John here. Hope you are enjoying the Academyoftheheartandmind. I was hoping to create a place where people who had some story, art or idea could come and get exposure for their work. It's been a very exciting six months and we have gone very far. Thank you everyone who has … Continue reading Six months in
Half a Year Later
By Thomas Page John has just told me we’ve been running Academy of the Heart and Mind for six months. Wow, that’s kind of a long time. How do you celebrate a website milestone? Is it like a birthday? Do I need to buy it a present? Do we get cake? I would definitely like … Continue reading Half a Year Later
Everything You Left Behind (Reprise)
By Alyssa Trivett A compression sock. Wooden baseball bat. Power drills aligning the wall, armed to the teeth with battery packs. Rusted out workbench. Operational electric model train town, circa ’97. Miscellaneous slippers, plastic laboratory glasses, beakers, and pipettes. Old business cards from your consulting business. Referee whistles. Identification badges for the park district. A keychain … Continue reading Everything You Left Behind (Reprise)
IF
By Rajnish Mishra Work is worship. It earns returns. Wives with a poet husband want his work bring returns. Time invested in poetic affairs does not reflect upon account. Life’s short, wants unlimited, each second must count. “Don’t build your Nobel in the air”, she says, motherly, practical and fair. Pardons poor husband’s … Continue reading IF
Academy of the Heart And Mind 