The story of the week for June 8 to 12 is…
Brothers by Jayne Martin
and
Smoothness Forever by Ben Fitzgerald
CANDACE KUBINEC: The Homeless Man on the Corner
He’s a lonely fixture on the street corner: cardboard sign, threadbare coat, empty eyes resigned to this fate. His life is a mere bump in the road. Ignored by many, embraced by none, even though he once lived their lives.
In the night, he howls without words and resolves nothing.
Candace Kubinec posts her stories at storydribbles.wordpress.com and her poetry at rhymeswithbug.com.
RAN WALKER: Protest in the Time of Covid
As the previous night’s fires mixed with the morning fog, Alex put on his face mask and went out to retrieve his morning newspaper from the driveway.
His street was quiet, peaceful, untouched.
Inside his home, his wife and son slept upstairs, oblivious to the fire still raging within him.
Ran Walker is the author of twenty books. He teaches creative writing at Hampton University and lives with his wife and daughter in Virginia.
GEORGE J SEARLES: How to Deal With Your Parents
Grieve and mourn here and now,
while their deaths tick ever closer,
though still some years away.
Take a week or two.
Use vacation time or sick leave.
Grieve. Mourn.
Do this right and you may begin
to love them both a little better
here, now,
while it matters most.
George J. Searles teaches English and Latin at Mohawk Valley Community College. Widely published, he is a former Carnegie Foundation New York State “Professor of the Year.”
JAYNE MARTIN: Brothers
I wait for Mom and Dad to return from the hospital.
Please wake up.
The rock skips one, two, three times across the calm lake surface before sinking into the deep. It’s all in the wrist action. I tried to teach you, like I tried to teach you to swim.
Jayne Martin is a Pushcart, Best Small Fictions, and Best Microfictions nominee, and a recipient of Vestal Review’s VERA award. Her debut collection of microfiction, “Tender Cuts,” from Vine Leaves Press, is available now. Visit jaynemartin-writer.com or find her on Twitter at @Jayne_Martin or Facebook at Jayne Martin-Author.
CHRISTINA MARIE DIAMOND: The Critic
Another day of wonder with my toddler.
I can only do so many unique voices and only one at a time. That’s why Mr. Elephant and Mr. Rabbit sound alike. She’s not pleased. I take her notes and will be better prepared for tomorrow’s encore.
I should’ve minored in theater.
Christina Marie Diamond is a storyteller residing in Hong Kong with her spouse and daughter. When she’s not being creative, the Brooklyn, NY native and her family are busy traveling around Asia.
LAURIE KUNTZ: To Do In Quarantine
Who knows how many days left?
Why organize the underwear drawer
or enter dank closets?
Maybe To Do means:
sit next to the cat,
find a book,
listen to traffic’s absence
fill the vase…
If I’m not here tomorrow,
who cares
whether I’ve got color-coordinated blouses
hanging in empty spaces.
Laurie Kuntz is an award-winning poet and film producer. She taught creative writing and poetry in Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. Many of her poetic themes are a result of her working with Southeast Asian refugees for over a decade after the Vietnam War years. She has published one poetry collection (Somewhere in the Telling, Mellen Press) and two chapbooks (Simple Gestures, Texas Review Press and Women at the Onsen, Blue Light Press), as well as an ESL reader (The New Arrival, Books 1 & 2, Prentice Hall Publishers). Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her chapbook, Simple Gestures, won the Texas Review Poetry Chapbook Contest. She was editor in chief of Blue Muse Magazine and a guest editor of Hunger Mountain Magazine. She has produced documentaries on the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Law, and currently is producing a documentary on the peace process and reintegration of guerrilla soldiers in Colombia. She is the executive producer of an Emmy winning short narrative film, Posthumous. Recently retired, she lives in an endless summer state of mind. See more on her website.
BEN FITZGERALD: Smoothness Forever
They carved out my soul and threw it in the dumpster out back, and now I feel better. There are festering knots buried deep within a soul; now they’re in there rotting with the mice and rubbish. There is no jagged scar anymore, only smoothness. Smooth smooth smooth—smoothness forever.
Ben is a high school junior who writes stories on the side. His work has previously appeared in 365 Tomorrows.
ANINDITA SARKAR: Tree Life
As his eyes adjust to the sunlight he gets up, cracks a quail’s egg, drinks it raw.
Whirling leaves give him a chill. He sees his wife at the kitchen window kneading bread. Romantic!
The newspapers read: “Bengal men self-quarantine up in trees due to the absence of spare rooms.”
Anindita Sarkar is pursuing an MPhil degree in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University. She is from Kolkata, India, and is a UGC Junior Research Fellow. Her works have recently appeared in Indolent Books, Snakeskin Poetry, Scars Publication, Ariel Chart Magazine, and Flash Fiction Friday.
NATALIE SCHRIEFER: Safety Blanket
I love blankets. I love their softness, their variety—their moods ranging from pastels to prints. I love my camo comforter most, big enough to cocoon me completely, my body hidden, protected from the cold, the open air, my parents’ voices swelling in the den… Nothing can reach me here.
Natalie Schriefer received her MFA from Southern Connecticut State University. She works as a freelance writer and editor. See more at natalieschriefer.com.