by James Maynard We lingered four thousand nights beneath an unmoving sky.Rut and root and bark. Fruit bursting from our limbs.And without speech we swayed, a system writtenFor the choirs of leaf we named the shattering.As the afternoon’s white yellow split into blue.As beneath the shards he sang his dark…
by Lindsey James (This story contains the death of a child.) You walk into the garage, counting and discounting your steps in equal measure, as if the right can cancel out the left, can erase your progress, can sweep away the gritty prints sketching the distance between the door and…
by Ali Ashhar On a freezing winter nightwhile watching premier league on televisiondad tells me he used to leadhis college team,we sip coffee togetherit has been a whilesince dad has seen his college pals.He narrates me an instanceas he reminisce his dynamic personalityon the field,in the meanwhile Chelsea scoresand dad…
by Bree LeMaire Cindy met Pablo on Match.com after a couple girlfriends signed her up. They christened her Cindy, for Cinderella, knowing she’d eventually come across a prince. Pablo showed up, a perfect match. Her picture was reminiscent of a thirtyish librarian, a short dirty blond without glasses. His picture…
by Yekaterina Droog (This story contains themes of war.) Styopka woke up. His bed was shaking as if he were on the train again. He loved trains: you didn’t have to do anything – you simply sat on the berth and looked through the dusty window at the barren fields,…
by Craig Fishbane 1 Teresa was separated from her family at the border. She spent a month at a facility where the boys shared the same bathroom as the girls. She insists that everything is fine now that she is back with her mother. She always has a smile for…
by Haley M. Forté It all began with a hummingbird feeder that hung from a maple tree. Watching the buzzing birds flit from perch to perch as the emerald leaves faded to their autumnal states was how Little Emilia wished to spend her mornings. Mother was always busy, and Father…
by James Maynard 1/Particular, with a forty-second street skimmerPendant on the toe of your stilettoWhich lifts, emerald, into the carcinogenic heavenAbove Gene Kelly’s eyes. Yet when you moveCosmic — world & form splashing into singularity.A figure turning a figure, turning.What is seen then not seen, a flash of the eternalThen…
by Dee Allen The old Lakota prophesyHas come to passIn our lifetime.As any creatureBound to the land would,A long black snakeSlithers over turf,Then travels underground.Below, it steadlily travelsAnd along the way,It gets woundedBy anything, even byPouring torrential rainsFalling like a guillotine blade,And slowly bleedsOunces of visceraSlick, thick andDeepest of black.Nearby…
by Kamillya Hunter I grew up in the suburbs. Scratch whatever image just came to mind because I promise it’s not accurate. Let me paint a clearer picture. One of rusty chain link fences surrounding patchy lawns, where stray dogs roam and chase kids down the street. Worn-out sneakers were…