JIM COURTER: Clueless

Amusing, Submissions, ,

“I have reason to believe my wife has a sleep disorder but is keeping it from me so I won’t worry.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The other day I happened to overhear her on the phone, lamenting to a friend that every morning she wakes up with a jerk.”

Jim Courter’s short stories have appeared in the United States, Canada, and England. He is a Pushcart Prize nominee and has won an Illinois Arts Council award for short fiction. His essays have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Smithsonian, and on the op-ed pages of the Chicago Tribune and The Wall Street Journal. His mystery novel, Rhymes with Fool, was published in 2018 by Peasantry Press. First Things First: Ephemera and Offscourings of a Distracted Writer, a collection of essays, humor, and short stories, was published in 2019.

DEL LOBO: Sweet Nectar

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

This hummingbird is different
He’s parched like the others
But his circus act is something else
Plastic red petals his trapeze
Swinging this way and that
Captivating his audience
Long beak dipping, sipping
Diminishing sweet nectar
Then a threat appears
Yellow-faced bumble bees
Unexpected competition

He quickly learns to share

Del Lobo writes poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction and currently lives on the Sunshine Coast in B.C. She earned a B.A. in International Development at the University of Guelph and is now studying Creative Writing there. Her short stories have appeared in Canadian Stories, Potato Soup Journal and other publications.

NICK YOUNG: Missive

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, ,

He watched as it bobbed in the indigo wash of the sea, moonlight glinting–green glass, white paper, black ink. It rose on the crest of a wave and was swept back to his feet.

He knew that she would never see his plea. He knew she would never return.

Nick Young is a retired award-winning CBS News Correspondent. Several of his pieces have appeared in 50-Word Stories. His writing has also appeared in the Nonconformist Magazine, the San Antonio Review, Backchannels Journal, Samjoko Magazine, Short Story Town, Danse Macabre Magazine, Pigeon Review, CafeLit Magazine, the Green Silk Journal, Typeslash Review, The Potato Soup Journal, Sein und Werden, Of Rust and Glass, Little Death Lit, Flyover Magazine, Sandpiper, Fiery Scribe Review, The Chamber Magazine and Vols. I and II of the Writer Shed Stories anthologies.

NELLY SHULMAN: The First Day

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

He thought about the spring when the light clouds would fly to the gulf, when he would plant primrose and hyacinths on the ancient balcony. Propping himself on an elbow, he looked out of the window, where the fine snow clouded the horizon of the first day of the war.

Nelly Shulman lives and writes in Berlin.

BOB THURBER: Adrift in Timeless Affection

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , ,

Past the bend, out of sight of the lake houses, we locked our oars.

The night was quiet, the air was still, the moon was full, the lake was a mirror.

We had our own moon, our own sky, a billion stars shining their light in the depths beneath us.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.

GENE NEWMAN: Seeing Less is Believing

Amusing, Submissions, ,

I always thought I was a fairly good housekeeper
until cataract surgery perfected one of my imperfect eyes.

I was shocked then to see clearly the dreadful condition of the house
and I resolved to do something about it immediately.

I now wear an eyepatch at home during daylight hours.

Gene Newman is a retired old guy (90 yrs) and former New Jersey journalist and columnist. Read more at GeneNewmanImagineThat.com.

TITUS GRIMM: Diary

Poetry, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

I see her smile in the letters
I hear her laughter in the spaces
I lean in to smell the pages
I feel her forehead pressed to mine

My pen can’t make an indent
My words have lost all meaning
And though intimate she’s seeming
This message was her last

Titus Grimm wrote this story.

SUSAN GALE WICKES: Commencement

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

One by one, the graduates’ names were called.

For me, there was one who stood out.

Maybe it was her face, etched with years, yet filled with determination.

Or the graceful way she rose to accept her diploma.

The smile that said, “I did it.”

Yes, Grandma. You really did.

Susan Gale Wickes lives in Indiana. In addition to writing and reading short stories, she enjoys cartoon captioning and word games.

PAULA HENRY-DURU: Tricksters

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , ,

Strange men emerged from the sand. It hadn’t rained in years and these men were a welcome distraction from the drought. They promised us rain for food, and too quickly we agreed.

Now the rain is ceaseless, and from my stilt house I see strange men emerge from the waters.

Paula Henry-Duru is a student and has recently started writing flash fiction.