YASH SEYEDBAGHERI: Invaders

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Camped at the bar, we dissect newcomers.

Lazy. Predators. Invaders. Driving values up for profit.

They smile. Ask about good beers. Fishing spots.

But they look and sound neat.

We invite them over. Contrition tugs. Someone brings up prices. Construction. We reload rumors. Their smiles evaporate, quick and very real.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA fiction program. His stories, “Soon,” “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” “Tales From A Communion Line,” and “Community Time,” have been nominated for Pushcarts. Yash’s work has been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Write City Magazine, and Ariel Chart, among others.

KAREN HAUSDOERFFER: Three Words

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

Teaching my kid to unicycle thrills us both like those first wobbly ventures on her bike. We practice until the summer sun sets orange and pink behind cottonwoods. We push the unicycle home.

Inside, Husband lies on the couch, a cloud of cold mist with a mouth: “I met someone.”

Karen Hausdoerffer teaches at Western Colorado University and the Center for Adult and Family Education. She has published in journals including Flyway, North American Review and Shenandoah.

PONTIUS PAIVA: Unseasonably Sentimental

Adventure, Submissions, , , ,

I remember the smells of summer: freshly mowed lawns, sunscreen. And the sound of birds that returned in the spring. Winter snowscapes were visually stunning, but fall was my favorite. It was a feeling, like a cool breeze on a humid afternoon.

All replaced by a fifth season: nuclear winter.

Find more post-apocalyptic prose and poetry by this seasoned writer at pontiuspaiva.com.

N WEST MOSS: Murmurings

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

When daytime temperatures rise above freezing, it’s time to tap the maples. The sap rises, murmuring, We can begin again. That’s the promise of spring. Knowing the endlessness of loss, she asks the trees each year, But how many springs are left to me? This is how Aprils get squandered.

N. West Moss is the author of the memoir Flesh & Blood (Algonquin 2021) as well as the short story collection The Subway Stops at Bryant Park. Her middle grade novel, Birdy, is forthcoming from Little, Brown. She can be found on Twitter at @scoutandhuck and on Instagram at @NWestMoss.

SARAH LEAVESLEY: Harry’s Latest Short Let

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

Yet again, his new home wasn’t as advertised: the “light coastal breeze” setting was more like prone to gale-force storms, his neighbours noisier than ideal for his hermit lifestyle. Meanwhile, the outside was badly weatherworn, the inside tide-marked and cramped even for a crab. It was time to move on!

Sarah Leavesley is a fiction writer, poet, journalist and photographer, who loves exploring shadows and light. See more at sarah-james.so.uk.

STEPHEN TILDEN: Trading Places

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , , ,

We were having breakfast together—I at my table and he at the feeder outside of the window.

For a long moment we gazed enviously at each other. I said, “Would that I could fly in the air,” to which he replied, “Would that I could sit in a chair.”

Stephen Tilden is retired and actually quite happy while sitting.

SAM BOWKER: The Rocks

Adventure, Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

First, we found the right rocks for the job.
Then, we broke the rocks into better shapes.
Later, we burnt the rocks to do new things.
Finally, we taught the rocks to think.
(Clever people, clever rocks)

One day, those rocks found us.
I wish we’d left the rocks alone.

Dr Sam Bowker is an art historian who also writes poetry, songs and very short stories. Sometimes these evolve into collaborative performances like “The Thief of Stars”, a experimental concert inspired by Egyptian medieval shadow theatre (khayal al-zill).

GENE NEWMAN: Italian Sausage Recipes

Amusing, Submissions, , ,

FRYING PAN RECIPE
Preheat frying pan
Add 1 tbsp of olive oil
Add sausages
Brown 3 minutes on each side
Add half cup of water, cover
Cook 6 minutes
Check for correct internal temp. of 160F

BARBECUE RECIPE
Place sausages on hot grill
When sausages resemble charcoal
remove and serve.

Gene Newman is a retired old guy (90 yrs) and former New Jersey journalist and columnist. Read more at GeneNewmanImagineThat.com.

SETH PILEVSKY: Knots

Submissions, Touching, , ,

The knots stop me as I run the bristles through her thick hair.

“Ouch, daddy.”

“Sorry, honey.”

I gently work through the knots with the brush while she hums.

We hear the bus coming. She stops humming and starts biting her nails.

I wish I could untangle all her knots.

Seth Pilevsky lives in New York and is happily married with five amazing kids. His work has appeared in What Doesn’t Kill You, a YA anthology published by Indomita Press, Maelstrom, The Inner Circle Writers’ Group Literary Anthology 2019, Long Island Literary Journal, Literally Stories, Memoir Magazine and Stinkwaves Magazine. Seth is currently working on his first YA novel. Sign up for updates at his website, spilevsky.com.