by Jeanne Althouse I was born in a hallway. My pregnant Mother had lovely brown hair curled in the style of Ingrid Bergman in the movie Casablanca. She defined her lips with dark red from a stick, her nose with loose white powder she stored in a gold case and…
Posts Tagged The Penmen Review
Mornings with Liam
by Terrence Litwiller Of all the benefits I’ve encountered since moving into “semi-retirement” earlier this year, the one I am most grateful for is my mornings at home with my now 20-month old grandson, Liam. My wife and I are blessed that for this time period he and his mom…
The Divorce of Mr. Nell
by The Poet Darkling I always speak the truth – regardless of its relevancy to the conversation – and the truth is I knew she wanted it; knew she was saving it expressly for after supper, she’d told me as much but I didn’t care… not right then. The night…
Go Round
by Amy Covel There I was, going around in circles. My companions run beside me to the tune that has become our source of life. Without it, we are still. Without it, there are no smiling faces. The conductor has brought us to life. We bear upon our backs the…
I Think A Lot
by Carli Chisenall I think a lot. I think a lot about death. The soft whisper of a soul, finally escaping its prison of flesh and sin. That one last exhausted breath. Solace, at last. I think a lot. I think a lot about life. It is everything and nothing….
The Talking Doctor
by The Poet Darkling He was nice momma saidI had to talk to him two days a week and she would buy me ice cream after. I saw him Tuesdays & Thursdays at one o’clock.I saw him two days a week for two years. My mother told him I was full of the…
Age for Sale
by Orlando A. Rebolledo I boarded the Ferris Wheel alone. My booth was clear glass all over. The door was more a hatch than a door. It closed, I sat, and the wheel went on. Tall buildings cowered into stumps, roads and highways sunk like trenches in the distance, and…
The Butterfly
by Jaclyn Knaus On broken wings Shattered Bruised Dancing through the storms of life Without an ounce of hope left Lost Alone Afraid With nowhere to belong In a family that the butterfly Once called her own Abandoned in a cocoon of hatred Ostracized Shunned An outcast from her own…
Blood Moon
by Darlene Holt It was April of ’86 when the blood moon murders began in Madison, Georgia. Before I met my wife, Charlene—hell, before I could even legally drink—back when life was simple. Or so I thought. My buddy, Chris Higgins, and I were taking some “easy A” elective on…
Sage
by Cat Wyatt A howling nor’easter bore down on my small town, winds gusting and blowing so hard that trees were bending over, their branches scrubbing the ground and shredding all the leaves on the abrasive, grooved concrete along the long driveway. The trees lined that driveway like sentinels that…