By Amy Reece Dear Jacqueline, May I call you Jacqueline? Or would you prefer, Ms. Woodson? Either way, I find myself enchanted by your verse flowing into novels about a life I never lived Although our years align. I hear my father saying, You stay away from them. I hear my mother saying, We don’t … Continue reading Dear Jacqueline
A Timepiece Story
By Rosa Meronek The room is silent. She frowns as she steps into the foyer, turning to lock the deadbolt on the front door. The soft tick of the large clock on the wall echoes in the quiet. Tick. Tick. Tick. Her gaze falls on the dirty socks in the corner. The muddy shoes. She … Continue reading A Timepiece Story
Paramnesia
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
The Golden Beach
By Bernadette Kloth & Steve Warren A full moon was waning and the nursing staff at St. Mary’s Hospital were all on their toes. A young nurse’s white Nike sneakers squeaked as she made a u-turn into room 444 when she heard one of her patient’s moaning. The older lady had been admitted yesterday and … Continue reading The Golden Beach
They Are Seen By Me
By Jim Bates I really do see them, The souls of my dear loved ones, In the form of fluttering butterflies, Dancing across a sunny summer sky, Or in the colorful flowers blooming, Along the paths we walk, The roads less traveled. I see them dipping and diving, Like gulls and terns, Flying free and … Continue reading They Are Seen By Me
The Trench Coat
By Nancy Lou Henderson Hanging on a new hook now, but what the existence I have had. My first owner was a man. After purchasing me, for some reason, the man took me to a tailor then instructed the tailor to add a secret pocket in my lining. At different times, strange items hid in … Continue reading The Trench Coat
Droit du Seigneur
By Paul Siekor I’d spent my pocket money on a copy of Michener’s The Source. I loved the gleaming candelabrum on the cover. I admired the book’s Dickensian, Biblical length, its comforting heaviness in my hand. I anticipated taking it to bed for hours of reading, engrossed in its folds the smell of new-book print … Continue reading Droit du Seigneur
From the Depth of my Grave
By Arti Rai I'm burried under the soil now resting in peace , rains have shed flood of tears , drops seeped onto my breathless body , I thought nature cried . A headstone showing human words would console my lying layers of earth I would heap over my brutal bones getting brawn . In … Continue reading From the Depth of my Grave
The Tunnel
By Nancy Lou Henderson It was time to begin her journey, and Elsa wondered, was she prepared? Once taking the first step on to the pathway, there would be no going back. Elsa took a deep breath, then saw herself at the opening to the tunnel. A path stretched out in front of her, leading … Continue reading The Tunnel
The Porch Bench
By Ronita Sinha It so happened that Minnie started baking treats for the neighborhood kids. It began the day Dr. Fish gently insisted that Minnie find something to do that gives her joy, a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Sitting in his grey impersonal chamber Minnie’s eyes misted over. Through the haze of … Continue reading The Porch Bench
Academy of the Heart And Mind 