mountains protect
the quaint village
keeping it remote
although unmapped
the hamlet is spotted
by whirling drones
excited tourists
skip through the gates
spilling into streets
hiding in shadows
villagers tremble
silencing their lutes
once the music stops
the tourists retreat
no longer enchanted
at nightfall
villagers gather
strumming anew
Roberta Beach Jacobson is an author, poet, painter. She makes her home in Iowa.
It was a pure voice, sweet and musical. I heard the choirboy in it, the sound a flock of birds shimmering along the length of his throat. He was always singing about love. Would he have done that if he’d known how soon it fades, or how quietly it dies?
Cheryl Snell writes stories with at least a grain of truth in them.
Meet me in the marsh, beside the pond near the windmill.
There are willows there, Cattails, distant hills, tree frogs and katydids.
No sign of anyone.
I’ll bring a boat made of folded newspaper.
We’ll watch the moon climb through the branches.
You can never see it all at once.
Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.
Hissing surf touched his feet and he shuddered, startled by the icy breath of the sea, where the sun descended to the darkening abyss of water. The song of sands was the clearest at twilight and he came here to write it on the driftwood, whitened with salt and wind.
Nelly Shulman divides her time between Jerusalem and Berlin. See more at nellyshuman.blog.
As a Darksider, I live in the absence of color: the impenetrable depth of the universe, the blazing of a star. Black and white.
Lightsiders can see sunsets of gold, pink, and violet. But also parchment earth, bloody scarlet of war, gray ash of nuclear blasts.
Still, I envy them.
Sherri Bale writes to the tune of waves crashing on the beach and the scent of salt in her nostrils.
My nephew takes me on a walk around the property that holds his condominium. Across the street chainsaws hum as palm trees fall to make room for a new high rise. But in this tiny little nook, between a cement staircase and a parking garage, we spot Eurekas dripping lemon.
Sue Ann Gleason is a writer, educator, and nourishment guide who loves freshly sharpened pencils and pages that turn. See more at wellnourishedwoman.com and sueanngleason.substack.com and on Instagram.
I woke up that morning into a world of glass. Ice covered the trees, deciduous and conifer; it covered everything I could see through the thin, now glaze-encased window. Before the sun could throw shards of itself onto this new world, I hesitated, afraid my breath would break it all.
Rina Palumbo is working on a novel and two nonfiction long-form writing projects alongside short fiction, creative nonfiction, and prose poetry. Her work appears in The Hopkins Review, Ghost Parachute, Milk Candy, Bending Genres, Anti-Heroin Chic, Identity Theory, Stonecoast Review, et al.
She didn’t hug, but her life embraced me in richness, like fertile soil nurturing zinnias. Like Earth’s dense nutrients nourishing blooms that flourish in early autumn fields.
Flowers pose grandly under a canopy sky of her favorite blue. Basket in hand, I stoop and pick her a medley of colors.
Jennifer Smith is a retired elementary school speech-language pathologist. She writes stories inspired by her small town southern life. Residing in Rock Spring, Georgia, Jennifer enjoys walking in beautiful places and listening to audiobooks.
She studies her reflection like words on a page. Facial contours are bones structuring her story. Cosmetic tricks are literary devices that detract from flaws.
Realizing she is the creation, not the artist, she removes the embellishments. Her truth laid bare—every line, scar, and tear—she stands more beautiful.
Christa Planko, MA, is a professional writer with a passion for creative expression. She has had her poetry and short stories featured in several publications, including River Poets Journal, Tanka and Haiku Journal, Poetry Quarterly, and Every Day Fiction. Her story, “The Olde-Tyme Village,” won the 2021 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest. Christa resides in South Jersey with her feline muses.
The artist places the unfinished portrait on the easel.
“Your decision,” he says.
Esme stares at the flawless features, feels a yearning for this vibrant youth – her face full of expectation.
Yet what is a life lived without the experience shown?
“Paint every line, every blemish, every scar,” she says.
Lesley Bungay wrote this story.