KEN GOSSE: Try to Remember in Coldest December

Amusing, Poetry, Submissions, , ,

To remember new words every week
is a small task for any word geek,
but as I get older
my bloodstream gets colder,
my brain starts to leak
and words start to sound Greek.
With no paddle to shoulder,
my thinking will molder
as I drift downstream in this creek.

Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats.

STORY OF THE MONTH: February 2024

News, Stories

EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections!

The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.

The finalists for February were:

Time is No Thief by Chelsea Utecht
Early Spring by Kai Wang
Out with the Old, In with the New by Carol Tymann
A Puddle on the Bathroom Floor by Nico Calvanico

The winner of the February 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

Out with the Old, In with the New

STEPHEN TILDEN: Ancient Instincts

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

When I returned with my tools, I noticed the posting: “Caution. Any attempt by the user to modify or tamper with this world is a breach of the Terms and Conditions. Improper alterations can cause catastrophic destruction. Violators will pay deeply and forever; repeat offenders will be shown no mercy.”

Stephen Tilden tinkers responsibly in Brooklyn.

Editor: Stephen wrote this story as a follow-up to New Stars.

RAYMOND SLOAN: Game Over

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

It wasn’t how you bossed and owned the wizard pinball machine, smashing my high score in the process. It wasn’t your jubilant peck afterward, before Becky and Steph enveloped you. It was your sassy walk-off through the clang of the arcade, was the moment I knew I’d marry you.

Raymond Sloan lives and writes in County Down, Ireland. He has previously been published in Blink-Ink, 101 Words, Nanoism, Potato Soup Journal, and 50-Word Stories.

STORY OF THE MONTH: January 2024

News

EDITOR: I just discovered that I hadn’t selected/announced a Story of the Month for a few months in a row, somehow! Apologies for the mistake and the very late selections!

The Story of the Month is chosen from the Story of the Week winners announced from the past month.

The finalists for January were:

Toys by Tim Boiteau
Reverie by Yash Seyedbagheri
The Trip of a Lifetime by Giulietta Nardone
Emergency Contact by Addison Hammond
A Ring and a Letter by Deborah Tapper

The winner of the January 2024 Story of the Month, and the $10 prize, is…

Emergency Contact

SHERRI BALE: The Flower Thief

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The Demolition Pending sign went up only days after the old lady died. The bulldozer was already waiting nearby. That night I snipped the sunset- and dusk-hued hyacinths blooming in her yard. She would have wanted that. I thought they would smell like Spring but they were tainted by death.

Sherri Bale loves using the fewest words possible to tell a good story. So why the heck has she just drafted a novel that stands at 387 pages?

LYNN KOZLOWSKI: The Physician’s Plans

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

He thinks it sheepish after all, without religion as he is, to plan to store the ashes of his body in an urn, but he knows too well the smiling piecemeal passing of parts on med school anatomy tables. He will not have his hand in theirs—his science notwithstanding.

Lynn Kozlowski’s writing has appeared in such places as 50-Word Stories, The Quarterly, The Malahat Review,  Poetry Breakfast, and failbetter.com. He has a volume of short pieces, Historical Markers.

GARY THOMSON: Soul Food

Submissions, , , , ,

Aleah Kattan watches new refugee Ruslan lean over her student contest entry of karabij halab, nutty cookies fragrant with hints of orange blossom.

Ruslan nibbles. Smiles.

An Arab proverb fragment (feeding another nourishes two souls) confirms her hope: today’s tasting quickens repair of his heart’s distress.

He reaches for another.

Gary Thomson is himself a descendant of refugees, from the Highland Clearances.

CARI MAIN: Truth Be Told

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Stretching truth… an old photo, a love of hiking and exotic travel, a passion for good food and wine plus an irresistible sense of humour. Both were guilty. He scanned the cafe looking for his “Hopeful Goddess”, she for her “Saviour Knight”. Empty chairs and lonely hearts, sipping Diet Coke.

Cari Main is retired and a big fan of the 50-word challenge.

MARY VAN BEUREN: The Hollow Tree

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Smoke rings poured out of the hollow tree’s mouth.

A nasty habit but one she couldn’t break. Simple pleasures.

And it would be the death of her from the inside out if she weren’t already dead.

The fire department came, cold water to quell the moldering. The hollow tree endures.

Mary has written prose and poetry and journaled throughout her life. In 2011 her essay, Cheating Death, won second place in Shelia Bender’s Essay Writing Contest. Currently Mary is preparing her memoir, Novice, for publication and working on a book of short stories.