by Aurora DePuy Gossip started brewing the day he arrived. It was to be expected in a town with just under a thousand people. He’d bought a shop and was cleaning the window the first time I passed. Our eyes met and his hand stilled on the glass. Sister Pfeiffer…
by Dawn Fryauff I have been told how to grieve by a dozen well-intentioned souls. I have watched friends Seethe with the anger that I seem unable to feel towards the man as innately part of me as my name; which no longer belongs to me. One he freely gave,…
by Dawn Fryauff No life bears forth from this desert. No seed takes root in this place. Be fruitful and multiply is Not A promise, but instead A command. Unfulfilled; My failure punctuated Monthly by Deep contractions of longing Birthing sand and scorched seed From this withered waste of a…
by Jon Bishop You’re an idiot, you say to yourself. You’re a complete and utter moron. Your hand is gushing blood, adding color to a day that matches the warmth and tone of the sidewalk. So why did you do it? Why did you smash the glass? Why did you…
by Kristina Swaim 5 My head plunged below the surface of the water. The water erupted in a tornado of movement. I dug my painted nails into the curved edge of the clawfoot tub as I tried to free myself from his grip. I just love him so much. Why…
by William Bortz I sit and count, in a midday sun, my troubles and woes the casted shadows of full limbs and branches poking through my kitchen window and stretching down the wall the blackened tips of my weary fingers- filing and sorting sight encumbered within my head; a cracked…
by Chris Ross Fade in: INT. GYMNASIUM HALLWAY- DAY The room is pitch black with the faint sound of rapid speech and sneakers squeaking against the floor. The door opens and the light from outside illuminates the hall. KEN “CASH” MCDONALD, 17, enters the room as the door closes slowly…
by Brianna Kittrell She greets you at birth, and you cry in her presence, still she becomes a part of your essence. She sways with the trees and rustles the leaves, and her beauty deserves more praise than it receives. Though she is giving and kind, she is often taken…
by Deana Wilson “TEN!” Dark. Too dark. Cramped. Stiff. Stuffed in like carrots in a vacuum sealed bag. Elbow in my gut; tangle of hair in my face. Carlotta! Too dark! Can’t see! Blonde hair on my tongue. Gasping…. “Carlotta!” How? Why blonde? How do I know — “Carlotta!” No…
by Jeff Eyssallenne A lazy lake under wandering ripples A breeze that startles the grass Faraway screams from happy children Rhythmic rushes from cars passing nearby Busy birds calling to each other A rock plopping into the lake makes me open a reluctant eye to see A young boy A…