JENNIFER M SMITH: Ninety-one

Submissions, Touching, , ,

I visit and find
the sweetness of honey still in the jar
under a lid too tight to open.

I can’t predict what will fail her next,
much as I try.
To prevent it.

Lace-up shoes are cast aside for Crocs.

Hand in hand we shuffle
together
toward shrinking tomorrows.

Jennifer M. Smith is the author of the award-winning book Green Ghost, Blue Ocean. She is a geologist, a chartered accountant, an offshore sailor and a triathlete. Obviously, she can’t sit still. More information and links to other published work can be found on her website at www.jennifermsmith.com.

LAURIE DOYLE: Three-Fourths of the Future

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

In the second month, a yellow tent appears outside the ER, billowing in and out like a breath. A man steps forward and is swallowed up. People wait their turn silently, cradling their phones like newborns. NOT AN ENTRANCE, two ER doors blare. A third’s blank. I walk toward it.

Laurie Doyle is the author of World Gone Missing, a book bestselling author Edan Lepucki praised as “a gorgeous debut.” Winner of the Alligator Juniper National Fiction Award and a Pushcart Prize nomination, Laurie’s work has appeared in McSweeny’s, Alta Journal, The Rumpus, Under the Sun, Dogwood Journal, The Los Angeles Review, and many other publications. Laurie teaches writing at The Writers Grotto in San Francisco and UC Berkeley.

LEO VANDERPOT: Inventory

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

See him then leaving work in Manhattan, 7:15, a summer night, stepping away from Must, feeling Maybe. Disappointing, these years later: he never met someone on the sidewalk open to change. Say a toast to those missed chances on the way to the train—safely carouseled from opportunity, chrysalis denied.

Leo Vanderpot lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. His memory piece about donating letters by Dwight Macdonald to the Yale Library appeared in Hinterland, a journal associated with the University of East Anglia.

STEVEN HOLDING: One For the Photo Album

Odd, Submissions, , , ,

The snip of rusty scissors as they go about their business. A mix of pictures, past and present; snapshots cut up, faces placed upon the floor.

Creating a mosaic. Father, mother, son, daughter. Eyes, smiles, unrecognisable.

As his collage takes shape, he patiently waits for the family to return home.

Steven Holding lives in the United Kingdom. Most recently, his work has appeared in the collections ONCE UPON A DRABBLE and PESTILENCE from Black Ink Fiction and DARK MOMENTS YEAR THREE from Black Hare Press. You can follow his work at stevenholding.co.uk.

DOUG LANE: Fees Waived For Persons In Imminent Danger

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

Witnesses said Lena jumped. Her husband cried fake. He paid. I investigated. Frozen river–no boats or breaks in the ice. Tailing Lena’s sister paid off. Once found, Lena begged. Showed me bruises. Offered fifty grand to unsee her. I drove her to Greyhound instead. Hubby’s payment bought her ticket.

Doug Lane’s work has appeared online and in print at Abyss & Apex, Pulp Modern, The Saturday Evening Post, and others. He writes, works, and lives in Salem, OR with his wife and their feline overlord, Buster. He maintains a small but sincere pumpkin patch on Facebook (DougLaneWrites) and a vacation destination at douglasjlane.com.

MARILYN McFARLANE: Shade or Sun?

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Flowering currant, bleeding heart and shy violets, her favorites, shade lovers all, quietly blooming in the corner.

Some flowers wither in bright light, she said. Don’t push me into blazing sun. Maybe next time I’ll fool you and come back as a brassy sunflower. The show-off you thought you wanted.

Marilyn McFarlane is a travel writer and the author of Sacred Stories: Wisdom From World Religions. She writes poetry and fiction, enjoys the 50-word form, and occasionally explores memoir. She lives in Oregon, where there is a lot of scope for the imagination.

SANTOSH KALWAR: The Singer

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

Laxmi takes a deep breath and pulls back the velvet curtains. She closes her eyes and sings; her powerful voice rings loud and clear, echoing in the hall. Then, to thunderous applause, she bows.

Afterwards, she opens the microphone with a sigh, pours shampoo, and begins to wash her hair.

Santosh Kalwar works as a poet, writer and researcher. He is the author of 26 books, including Quote Me Everyday. For more info, please visit kalwar.com.np.

EILEEN MARDRES: They Should Have Stayed Home

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

A world lit up in blue and yellow,

Sunflowers carried away in a Russian stream of red,

young boys, unprepared, so sad, bewildered by the sea of ordinary people saying, “Go home”.

Songs of the 60’s permeate the air.

What if they did hold a war, but no one came?

Eileen shares in the world’s heartbreak.

KATE E LORE: #dance

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

They spent a week deciding the dance, practicing it. Spent hours on wardrobe. The song choice was a long deliberation. There were arguments. Filming took thirty takes. Again and again and again. Post it. Hash tag you’re it. But they weren’t. It was a viral disease they just couldn’t catch.

Kate E. Lore is a queer, neurodivergent, femme she/her, born into a lower class/low income family, via a divorced, widowed, single mother of four. Under the pen name Kate E. Lore she has had a handful of short stories and nonfiction essays published with various literary magazines.