By Charles C Gaines The north wind blew hard and cold, screaming over the mountains, swirling through the hills outside Denver. Hardwoods and evergreenswalled the backyard of the farmhouse,sentinels lined against the frosty fence rails.Sworn allies, standing tall, no doubtthat together they could ever fail.Massive spruce, dusted by the first snow.Tall maples, bereft of leaves, … Continue reading Oh What A Tree
Distance
By Paul O. Jenkins In this photograph,Taken from a respectful distance,I see my sister kneelBeside the horse16 hands high,Now unable to riseFrom the pasture floorAnd I wonder at the love On displayAnd the steady handOf my brother-in-law,Centering the shot,And the knowledgeThat I will never so loveOr be so steady myself. Paul O. Jenkins aims to … Continue reading Distance
At a Butterfly Exhibit
By Leslie Dianne At the butterfly exhibitmost of you dizzy dancewhirling in wonderfor the amazement of the crowdsome of you are shyand motionless hiding behind the canopy of your wings heads bowedlegs folded in public prayerall of you are vainyour million scales reflecting your scarlet, tan and indigo splendor, bodies contracting wings figure eighting and … Continue reading At a Butterfly Exhibit
At Pond’s Edge
By P.C. Scheponik The pond was empty today.No flock of Canadian geese floating gracefully across the waterslike feathered Spanish galleons.No bronze hulls of snapping turtlesbreaking the surface like emerging submarines.No dragonflies with Tiffany glass wingsdarting among the cattails and phragmites.Just the reflection of the sky mirrored inthe stilled waters of the pond.I sat upon a … Continue reading At Pond’s Edge
Intuition
By Maleiah Ewert I walked past your room just like any other day.Making my path to the restroom just beyond your door.However, today I stopped for a minute staring into it.In that one short minute, thoughts consumed me.Everything seemed normal,But my gaze was locked on the pain medications lying upon your dresser.They’re usually stashed away … Continue reading Intuition
Coffee Run
By James Croal Jackson The rain is the rain, and everyone is ina mood as I clock in at nine P.M.for my twelve hour shift afterdowning a peanut butter mochafrom Yinz, where Camillehad a large order of tencoffees for the costumedepartment before me.It was the first timeI’d seen her at this job, even though we … Continue reading Coffee Run
From Zero to Infinity
By Alex Andy Phuong Beginning with nothingRight from the start,And choosing to have a soulWithin a world that is truly wholeReally does come from the heart,So strive to soar higherLike never beforeWhile never fearingWhat the future has in storeAll while trying to do so much moreThan one would ever dareWhile having an attitude of gratitude … Continue reading From Zero to Infinity
The Cellar
By John Ziegler Grandma sent me down the creaky wooden steps to fetch jars of dilly beans and pickled beets. Which aroused my anxiety because there was a monkey paw in the back corner.Not so menacing by daylightbut after dark, that’s when the thing came alive.It was a fuzzy hunk of brown insulationon a water … Continue reading The Cellar
Puzzle
By S. G. Dorrity Emptied out, Falling into each other, stumbling and grasping for something to hold,We were lost and missing a few,Struggling to make that complete picture advertised on the box. Coming together, grouped and joined, It all started to become more recognisable, A vague shape in the clouds, comparable to the animals of … Continue reading Puzzle
so i’m supposed to be writing a poem
By Joy Jia so I’m supposed to be writing a poem. I’m supposed to be writing a poem but what I’m actually doing is putting italics on words to pad out the line count, because that’s what I’m really good at, at the end of the day. Padding things out, I mean. Scraping by. Making … Continue reading so i’m supposed to be writing a poem
Academy of the Heart And Mind 