CAROLINE COUDERC: Special Occasion

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

When she died, she left behind her stunning wardrobe, rows of hangers full of brand-new, high-quality clothes, silk scarves, designer handbags and shoes, most still with the tag on.

Most of the exquisite pieces had been hanging there for years, still unworn, being saved for later, for a special occasion.

Caroline Couderc is a multilingual writer and translator living in Switzerland and the UK. She has degrees in French Literature, Linguistics, and Cultural Anthropology. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Boston Literary Magazine, War, Literature and the Arts, Shotgun Honey, The Airgonaut, The Antigonish Review, and more. You can find her online at beautyisasleepingcat.com.

NELSON SCOTT: At the Intersection of Broadway and Pine

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Impatience reigns
In this hostile environment
Where all are trapped, and none can escape.

Children wail,
Grownups mutter,
And a mob’s slowly forming
To strangle that jerk
Blasting 70’s pop out his window.

Meanwhile, most sit,
Comatose,
With fingers drumming
For all eternity…

…until the stoplight changes,
and civilization returns.

Nelson Scott is the pseudonym of a student who has occasionally wanted to travel to New York City–and then has promptly remembered the crowds, traffic, and sheer degree of expenses that would likely greet him there.

AVRA MARGARITI: Crayola

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, ,

The child therapist gave me a box of Crayola markers, told me to match the colors to my emotions.

“This is stupid.”

He said, “I know.”

I grabbed the black marker and discarded the rest.

He sighed. “Your mother is going to die.”

Without looking up, I said, “I know.”

Avra Margariti is a queer Social Work undergrad from Greece. She enjoys storytelling in all its forms and writes about diverse identities and experiences. Her work has appeared in Wolfpack Press, The Writing District, Dime Show Review, and Page & Spine.

JP GRASSER: Imagination in Sheep’s Clothing

Submissions, Touching, , ,

Way back when, I’d lure the dog up into the indent on the empty side of the bed, where he’d arch his back along the comforter’s fold, sigh, slump, and twitch through sheep meadow dreams. His heart beat through my skin. I’d imagine him gone, you know, in self-preparation, pointlessly.

A Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, J.P. Grasser is a PhD candidate at the University of Utah, where he edits Quarterly West.

GLENN A BRUCE: Under the Old House

Adventure, Submissions, ,

The basement was dank and stark, still, a broken window high on the wall, shards on the cement floor, spider webs as thick as fog, touching me.

I reached for the light string, where I knew it should be, and the cold hand was around my wrist, pulling me down.

Glenn A. Bruce, MFA, was associate editor for Lindenwood Review. He published eight novels and two collections of short stories, wrote Kickboxer, and wrote for Walker: Texas Ranger and Baywatch. His stories, poems, and essays have been published internationally. He has won awards, judged stuff, and spoken often. He taught at Appalachian State University for 12.5 years.

PATRICK MC LOUGHLIN: Progress

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Between McSwiggan’s and Burke’s is where Mike stands around waiting idly and endlessly for nothing, smelling of old carpets and looking like he’s been lost in the woods since the fifties.

Seventeen years ago his brother gave him two thousand euro and drove off. A solid base to build on.

Patrick Mc Loughlin is an English Language Teacher in Ireland who dabbles in writing. He also dabbles in painting and music and someday hopes to do more than dabble. He lives in the west of Ireland, where it’s hard to concentrate.

MICHELLE DINNICK: Happy Valentine’s Day

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , , , , ,

I don’t know what possessed me to do it.

I was tired, feverish, losing my voice. That night, I’d had the audacity to ask for help with the boys at bedtime.

His words stung; I was very angry.

But I was smiling as I swished his toothbrush in the toilet.

Michelle is an award-winning author and poet. She is a contributor in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Canada, and was a quarter finalist in the 2017 ScreenCraft Short Screenplay contest. Her writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail (one of Canada’s National newspapers) and a number of local magazines and newspapers including The Briar Crier, Total Sports, Voice of the Farmer, Arts Talk and Focus 50 Plus. Her short story “Lightning Strikers” (also featured on Commuter Lit) was made into a series in the Focus 50 + Newspaper because fans asked for more! In 2018, Michelle won the Ontario Writers Conference Story Starter Contest in two categories. You can find her online at commuterlit.com, fiftywordstories.com, femininecollective.com, michelledinnick.com, and @MichelleDinnick.

LISA CHAMBERS: A Love Story

Submissions, Touching, ,

April loved Dylan from the moment she first saw him. His blue eyes pierced her soul. She knew there could be no other.

Crouching down, she beckoned to him. Dylan, husky in breed and build, ran into her waiting arms.

Love born in a shelter, but exactly who rescued whom?

Lisa Chambers is a Texas girl who loves words.

CANDACE KUBINEC: Passing a Window Late at Night

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , ,

Our eyes met through the glass, a chance that may never come again.
For one short moment we connected. Then just as quickly, she was gone—a graceful, young fawn.
I look for her on clear nights and wonder if she looks for me while eating apples under my tree.

Candace Kubinec posts her stories at storydribbles.wordpress.com and her poetry at rhymeswithbug.com.