As usual with our contests we wanted to give a shoutout to one poem and one story that we thought really stood out among the submissions that we received. Good job to "The Hymn Of The Bethlehem Star" by Luisa Kay Reyes and "Small Town Christmas Wearing Headphones" by Kelli J Gavin. The Hymn Of … Continue reading Christmas Contest: Honorable Mentions
Christmas Contest: 3rd Place Poetry
"Adrift in a Christmas Snow Globe" By Ken Allen Dronsfield As I gaze through the glass of the snow globe. My mind drifts away and I find myself there skating. Through the snow flakes, and the bonfire’s glow mugs of cocoa with tiny marshmallows waiting. The vision of my girlfriend, wearing her red coat with … Continue reading Christmas Contest: 3rd Place Poetry
Christmas Contest: Poetry 2nd Place
In our hearts By: Linda Crate all the children with eyes shining like ornaments eagerly anticipating a man in a red suit to grant their christmas wishes, and all the reindeer landing on the roof and the cookies and milk left out for santa; every song i used to listen to a … Continue reading Christmas Contest: Poetry 2nd Place
Christmas Contest: Poetry 1st Place
"The Ghosts of Christmas Past" By Micah Singleton The Ghosts Of Christmas Past As a cold wind blows, the hour comes fast, to a time when Christmas, will be part of the past. With no tree of lights, and no gifts to bear, a man sits alone, as a chill fills the air. His fire … Continue reading Christmas Contest: Poetry 1st Place
A Hole In The Sheet
By Wanda Morrow Clevenger after our first was born Mom came out one day for the whole day made stew did some laundry found and mended a hole in the bedsheet took note of every little thing asked embarrassing questions mothers ask daughters at these times I hemorrhaged after the birth was … Continue reading A Hole In The Sheet
Connector Flights of the Bumblebee
By Ryan Quinn Flanagan The mail comes and I stand up tall beat my bare chest like a silverback gorilla tearing paper towels from the rack dismembering the television down to its various parts the job interview was not a success I told them some things I should not have … Continue reading Connector Flights of the Bumblebee
Banana Spots
By Marianne Brems The crackling green of early life becomes the yellow jacket of pride in perfect banana ripeness. But soon shy specs of brown rear their tiny heads, grow confident, mature into warrior spots puffing out their chests, charging into a softening yellow marsh, rejoicing in their twilight advance. Multiplying, Conquering, until finally … Continue reading Banana Spots
The Baptist Evil Eye
By Wanda Morrow Clevenger we girls learned to sew and sew well Mom saw to that with four years of home-ec some cooking thrown in in the bargain I waited for her to leave for work then shortened my dress by 3 inches before school taking it out later with one long … Continue reading The Baptist Evil Eye
The Untranslatable: Toska
By Thomas Page The Untranslatable This is a series of poems of words that do not directly translate into English. I have tried to capture the essence of the word in a poem. The ticks of a tock slow down to a mockery, The ebbs of a flow slow down to a disappointment, The pushes … Continue reading The Untranslatable: Toska
A Piano Falls
By Marianne Brems As I climb up a third flight of stairs, a piano falls from the sky. Invisible, silent. It lands slowly, deliberately burrowing into my quads. No path to climb out. Somewhere along the way a neuron shifts. A familiar handle sits just out of reach. A window seems harder to … Continue reading A Piano Falls
Academy of the Heart And Mind 