Tag Archives: children

JESSICA WORTLEY: Reproduction

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

The family at the next table look embarrassed and you don’t know if it’s because you eat alone, or because their children are squabbling over ice cream.

You read about genetics and look at the art on the walls. There is an empty seascape, and a crowded vase of daffodils.

Jessica is a published writer and a teacher, currently working towards a PhD in creative writing at Teesside University, England. Her first poetry pamphlet As if We Were the Trees, was published in 2015. Her writing has been published with Diamond Twig, Appletree Writers, Reside magazine and in Black Bough magazine, amongst other places.

JIM WOESSNER: Coloring Monsters

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

“Monsters have green eyes,” she said, working feverishly with a crayon. “You can tell he’s a boy monster,” she said.

“Really?” I said. “What about girl monsters?”

“Girls are too good to be monsters.”

Suddenly I had no idea if I had been a good father or a terrible one.

Jim Woessner is a visual artist and writer from California. He has an MFA from Bennington. Publishing credits include Unbroken Journal, The Sea Letter, Adelaide Magazine, Potato Soup Journal, Ariel Chart, Peeking Cat, Critical Read, and others.

BOB THURBER: Grandparent Alienation is a Dirty Business, Especially During the Holidays

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

Dear babies,

Listen. I know it hurts. I’m sorry it hurts.
But don’t stop stretching those muscles.
You’re doing great. You’re growing stronger.
Don’t ever believe you’re grasping at nothing.
The distance hasn’t widened between us. I’m still right here.
Some days I can almost feel your fingertips.

Keep reaching.

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.

PATRICK YU: A Lost Moment

Poetry, Submissions, Top Stories, Touching, , , , ,

A bright morning
The blue skies and waves
Toes in the sand
I sip coffee
As two children
Search the shore
“Hey dad look”
They call out all the marvels they explore
Dad oblivious with cellphone to ear
Smiles and nods
A moment
Absorbed
With warmth
From a casual stranger

Sometimes life’s moments get lost.

JOHN YOUNG: Wedding Reception

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

At the wedding reception two middle aged women, the mothers of the bride and groom, are dancing together and alone. The vocalist is attempting Orbison’s Pretty Woman. One mother is wearing a fascinator, the feather above her head beating time to another tune.

The bride and groom are arguing again.

John Young lives in St Andrews. He likes spooky stuff and the boundary areas been “normal” and “odd” experiences.

YASH SEYEDBAGHERI: First Winter After She Left

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

First winter after Mother leaves, sister Nancy and I shovel snow, hands weighed down. Flakes fly, whirling seductresses. We clear faster. Flakes cover clearness. Nature takes. Gives people wanderlust, reveals darkness beneath starched smiles. We try to make everything perfect. Keep clearing. We trip. Keep trying. Keep tripping. Don’t surrender.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA program in fiction. His work is forthcoming or has been published in journals such as 50 Word Stories, Silent Auctions, City. River. Tree., and Ariel Chart.

LOIS ROSEN: Before My Second Wedding

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , , , , ,

My father-in-law-to-be mowed our yard with his tractor, transforming the tangle into a park.

My son sobbed, He killed my favorite blackberry bush.

“But there are more,” I argued. “Look, they’re all over.” He wouldn’t face where I pointed.

I wish I’d said, “It’s painful to lose what you love.”

Lois Rosen’s poetry books are Pigeons (Traprock Books 2004) and Nice and Loud (Tebot Bach 2015). She has taught ESL in Oregon, New York, Ecuador, Colombia, Japan, and Costa Rica. Lois founded the Peregrine Poets of Salem, Oregon, and leads the Trillium Writers and the Institute for Continued Learning Writing Group at Willamette University. She won Willamette Writers’ 2016 Kay Snow First Prize in Fiction.

MIR-YASHAR SEYEDBAGHERI: Myths

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

Santa’s drinking Dad’s wine.
Head held back, he guzzles, laughing like a honking goose. Reminds me of Dad.
Mother claims Santa loves me.
I lose hints of faith.

Four years later, Santa’s hurling wine bottles. Mother and I dart among fusillades.
She doesn’t say Santa loves me.
Love’s a myth.

Mir-Yashar is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA program in fiction. A recipient of two Honorable Mentions from Glimmer Train, his story, “Strangers,” was nominated for The Best Small Fictions. Mir-Yashar’s work is forthcoming or has been published in journals such as Maudlin House, The Drabble, Door Is A Jar, and Ariel Chart.

KATHARINE VALENTINO: Introducing Abraham Lincoln

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

Shayna was standing as still as a statue, small fists clenched, glaring up at Abraham Lincoln. After almost a minute, she took a deep breath, marched boldly up, and slapped that huge bronze boot. Then she stated, with great satisfaction, “He’s not real.”

So we went to feed the ducks.

Katharine Valentino retired from drudgery in 2015 and now stays busy as the owner of Setting Forth—on a Literary Itinerary and as co-lead and website administrator of Plastic Up-Cycling.

OWEN YAGER: Back Before We Knew the World

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , , , ,

Sani and I stood in a hotel parking lot once and watched two children who were standing silently, holding each other’s hands and looking at the ground, while their parents fought.

That night we promised each other we’d always talk gently.

Those were hopeful days, before we knew the world.

Owen Yager is a senior at Carleton College. His work has recently appeared or is upcoming in multiple publications, including Flash Fiction Magazine.