THAD DeVASSIE: Things Left Unsaid

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

They have been painstakingly cataloged, each with date stamps remembered vividly, ready to roll up on your shores like muscle memory, like grudge-holding tides that never forget. When you’re willing to let it go—all of it—to make amends, to say your goodbyes, let it not be too late.

Thad DeVassie is a lifelong Ohioan who writes and paints from the outskirts of Columbus. His recent work has appeared in Unbroken, Spelk, Lunate, and Ghost City Review, among others. He is a winner of the 2020 James Tate International Poetry Prize for his manuscript SPLENDID IRRATIONALITIES. His chapbook, THIS SIDE OF UTOPIA, will arrive in 2021 from Cervena Barva Press. Find more of his work @thaddevassie.

CAROLYN R RUSSELL: Released

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

The bullet misses her face; it deflects off the bullhorn she holds to her lips. Despite the hole in her lungs, she continues to chant as many hands lift her up and over the crowd. Then she is free, released now, at last, to be the eye, not the storm.

Carolyn R. Russell is the author of “The Films of Joel and Ethan Coen,” published by McFarland & Company in 2001. Her humorous YA mystery, “Same As It Never Was,” was released in 2018 by Big Table. Carolyn’s new YA dystopian thriller, “In the Fullness of Time,” was published by Vine Leaves Press in March of 2020. Her essays and stories include pieces for The Boston Globe, Dime Show Review, Bridge Eight, Wanderlust Journal, and Flash Fiction Magazine. She holds an M.A. in Film Studies from Chapman University, and has taught on the college, high school, and middle school levels. Carolyn lives north of Boston with her husband and two children.

ROBERT MARKOVICH: The Boy In The Box

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , ,

Can boogeymen and fluffernutters, scraped knees and coloring books, times tables and video games, homework assignments and roller coasters, algebra problems and iPhones, fumbled kisses and glimmers of the man to be matter if they all lead to a momentary miscalculation of speed and distance on a bicycle at night?

Robert Markovich spent a lifetime in what is charitably referred to as service journalism, writing and editing stories about everything from cars to toilets, most recently at Consumer Reports. He is happily and gratefully retired.

JOSHUA ADDISON: Triumph

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

The throngs of people erupt as the parade enters the city, my chariot at the head outshining Helios himself. The crowd cheers hysterically as I smile and turn my laureled head in recognition.

My euphoria is interrupted by a soft whisper,

Caesar, you are but a man…

Hmph, not today.

Joshua loves historical fiction and thought it might be interesting in a microfiction format, perfect for those tiny, nuanced moments in history that are never conveyed in a textbook.

MARJAN SIERHUIS: Patience

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

I watch father through a panel of glass.

I long to remove my mask and give him a hug, but the nursing home will not allow it.

Perhaps tomorrow, I tell myself.

Be patient.

For him, you have all the time in the world.

Marjan Sierhuis loves reading 50-word stories.

JL MATTHEWS: The Truth and the Lie

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

He ripped loose the foil, poured, and stirred.

“And you don’t see it as a problem?” she asked.

He turned and sipped his coffee. “I do it all the time, too.”

“What? Lie?”

He nodded. “He is an artist, Kathy. It is through the lie that he reveals the truth.”

JL Matthews is a Medium.com top writer of fiction, history, and humor. His writing can be found at medium.com/@JLMatthews

MEGHA NAYAR: Ms. Robin Hood

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

She’s an entrepreneur, though not of life-altering stuff. No vaccines or edu-tech.

She makes beauty potions for the uber-rich. Sells the promise of lifelong allure, at 500% profit. They buy happily.

Then she gives their money away. Feeds, shelters, medicates the destitute. Anonymously.

She’s the legal kind of Robin Hood.

Megha Nayar writes to remain sane. It is her escape from drudgery, dealing with people, and the drudgery of dealing with people.

DEIRDRE SMITH: Birthday Boy

Submissions, , , ,

He lies in the bubbly bath water, face protruding enough to comfortably breathe.

I gently pour water over the soapy hair on his forehead, the bit that didn’t quite make the dive.

He doesn’t flinch.

He smiles at me and I at him.

Today, my baby is a six-year-old fish.

Deirdre is a stay-at-home mom to three young children. She has a degree in English and a Masters in Counselling Psychology.

JAMES MENGES: Who Should Know?

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

My terminal patient’s only hope is a kidney transplant.

His estranged adult daughter returns after her mother’s death and agrees to be tested as a potential donor.

The test results cry, “Incompatible match.”

There is no proper way to tell either of them that she is not his biological daughter.

James Menges is a writer and photographer. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

PAUL LAMAR: Trail Terpsichore

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

At the running trail’s straightaway, I knew I could make my legs pistons, sprint like I was 25, but suddenly Goose-Poop Alley loomed, 100 yards of goopy green and brown sidewalk smudges. I leaped, twisted, quick-minced, and lunged, the ballet dancer I’d never been but was now—magnificently!–at 74.

Paul Lamar lives with his husband, Mark, in Albany, NY, not far from three grown children and two swell grandkids.