ASMI MAHAJAN: Bittersweet

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , ,

she made coffee
just how i liked it.
smiled when i sat.
nodded when i spoke.
her silence never replied.
her eyes never left.
i said goodbye.
she stayed.
still stays.
frozen in a photo
on the wall,
holding a cup
i do not remember
teaching my daughter to make.

Asmi Mahajan is a student from India who finds reading and writing to be deeply cathartic. Beyond the written word, she enjoys café hopping, experimenting with new styles of matcha and bubble tea, and practicing calligraphy and brush pen lettering. Whether it’s through ink or experience, she’s always looking for new ways to express herself.

GABE BONNEY: 日本

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I’m obsessed with Japan. I can’t help it! Like a junkie angling for a fix, I scan, watch, wildly make spreadsheets.

Shinkansen. Shinjuku. Shibuya!

The Duolingo owl, neon green, chirrups a command. O’cha kudasai! I sing obediently.

My son laughs, rolls his eyes, knowing our travels will be organised chaos.

Gabe has been writing and editing for 30 years in Sydney, Australia. She finds travelling an endless source of writing inspo. (Her son is not so sure.)

MATTHEW EICHENLAUB: Geraldine

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

She skipped a grade, he flunked out of boarding school
and so, they met as sophomores, feral and edgy
like a Berlin disco. Many years later, he still recalls

sad blue eyes and the small of her back.
Her bright yellow dress feeling stiff and new
like their first slow-dance.

Matthew lives in Maine near a lake. He is very fortunate and sometimes lucky. He wishes our world was a happy place.

JENNY MATTERN: Notre Dame

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , , ,

in the middle ages
cathedrals soared
impossibly high
flying buttresses
allowing each
stained glass window
to arch
up and up
and up
inviting in
all the light

is it any wonder
then
that I
in my own middle age
throw open my arms
impossibly wide
inviting in
all the light

Jenny Mattern is a poet, a crafter of stories, and a cake-for-breakfast enthusiast who lives with her family in Montana. She is represented by Nicole Eisenbraun at Ginger Clark Literary Agency.

TREVOR: Inexorable

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , , , ,

In my wheelchair in the exam room, as I explain my symptoms in detail to the specialist (unable to move my legs; no control over my bladder, bowels, or anything below my waist), I can feel it purposefully, deliberately changing course and making a desperate, hell-bent beeline for my mouth.

Trevor’s fiction and non-fiction have appeared it print and digital publications since the 1970s. He’s a mononymous, multiple award-winning, full-time entertainer who likes hyphens. trevorthegamesman.com

JOSIE LEJEUNE: Mrs. Brown

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Mrs. Brown, queen of the classroom.
57,559 hours of Romans, Vikings, Celts behind her, over and over.
Sandwich every lunchtime. Tweed suit, lace-ups, greying bun. Kids in navy uniforms, year after year.
History unchanging.

Endless, exquisite hours ahead.
Sequinned dress. High-heels. Flowing hair.
Queen of the ballroom.
History to write.

Josie Lejeune wrote this story.

MICHELLE WILSON: What Is Broken Can Be Healed

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

My parents never learned how to heal. Their bodies crippled by ancient, long-neglected wounds, they hobbled through wasted days with shattered arms, legs, tongues, and feet.

When they pinned me down with four broken hands, their intentions were clear.

Wrestling away, I escaped in one piece—minus a broken heart.

Michelle Wilson graduated from Bennington College with a degree in literature and creative writing. Her words have appeared in 365 Tomorrows, Bending Genres, A Thin Slice of Anxiety, Rejection Letters, Potato Soup Journal’s Best of 2021 Anthology, Maudlin House, Litro Magazine, The Drabble, 50-Word Stories, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, among others. Her story ‘Fish Brain’ was nominated for Best of the Net 2022. She lives with her partner in Washington, DC. She can be found at https://michellekwilson.wordpress.com/.

SUZANNE AUBIN: A Praying Chance

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Underneath the Sacred Heart calendar, my grandparents ask me to kneel after supper. Seven heads bow under the fluorescent light; one Our Father, ten Holy Marys, an endless repetition of sounds muttered in hopes of better jobs and better lives, my grandmother’s tired voice, trailing the “Amen” with well-practiced resignation.

Suzanne Aubin is a retired language teacher who loves all things artistic and the great outdoors. She lives in Kelowna, BC.

JS O’KEEFE: Double Walker

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I meet me ambling in the grocery store
and look into my cart
what a cheapo man am I

Saturday too I saw me in the state park
wearing torn yoga pants and old tennis shoes
like a gutterpup

I’d better start avoiding places
where I can bump into me

J.S. O’Keefe has published over three hundred short stories and poems in print and online literary magazines. See more at szjohnny.net.