ROYA NOURAEI: My Suitcases

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

How fast the clock’s hands run to the finish line of my motherland’s life.

How innocently my belongings gaze back at me, like orphans, begging me: “Please, pick me.”

My suitcases, these memorable treasures, have become the smallest bags in the world.

Why won’t all of me fit into them?

Roya is a mother of three who immigrated to Sydney Australia eleven years ago. She has more than 100 poems, stories, and plays. Her academic education is in statistics and planning and she has more than 20 years of experience in data analysis and management.

RUTH MANNINO: It’s a Habit

Adventure, Poetry, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

It’s a habit:
looking out my kitchen window.

Checking to see if my neighbor’s car is parked.
Relief when I see it,
Knowing he’s safe.

Irene never returned
from the trip to PA
for her chemo treatments.

Hit a tree.
Took days to discover.
Broke in to rescue her dog.

Ruth Mannino is testing her hand at writing poetry for April’s poetry month. She learned more about Irene after she died, than when she was living next door. Isaac, her dog, was adopted by a good man and his family.

JENNY LOGAN: Tattoo

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

I browsed the rack of photos and flicked through the plastic wallets for something suitable. Perhaps a meaningful word this time? The end of a relationship should be marked in some way.

“See anything you like?” he asked. I caught his eye—bright blue, long, dark lashes.

“Not today, thanks.”

Jenny Logan lives in Edinburgh. She has stories selected for Dark Rose Press anthologies and is featured in Friday Flash Fiction. Jenny enjoys watching grand sumo and cross stitches mini-masterpieces.

CHRISTA PLANKO: Taking Out the Trash

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

“Hey, idiot!” boomed the voice from the kitchen. It bombarded Mary with disparaging remarks. She felt trapped, insecure. A rotten stench arose with each insult.

Fed up, Mary stormed the kitchen, tore off the lid, and took out the trash. She kept walking, free and refreshed. She didn’t turn back.

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. Recently, her story, “The Olde-Tyme Village,” won the 2021 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest. Christa resides in South Jersey with her feline muses. For her bio and list of published works, visit the website christascorner.godaddysites.com.

JOHN JOSEPH RYAN: Never Again a Magic Hour

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , ,

“At your age I cherished the Magic Hour—the rotund warmth of widening day, kneeling before the advance, ah! of night, caravan clouds towing it aloft in a shush of cool air the trees exhaled in unison.”

He paused, teary.

“I’m sorry you will never know that swell of sweetness.”

John Joseph Ryan’s work has appeared in River Styx, McSweeney’s, Mystery Weekly, Suspense Magazine, and in several international anthologies. John’s collaborative short, “Hothouse by the River,” was published by the University of Iowa Center for the Book. He is also the author of a crime novel, A Bullet Apiece, and a contributor to the textbook, Teaching Lincoln: Legacies and Classroom Strategies.

CINDY CHERRY: Collapse

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Without believing, I let out
Prayers like popcorn
Begging for angels to be real.

After the darkness and the quiet,
small stones of ceiling plaster
continue to fall
Teeth from heaven.

I am covered.
the roof and floor
groan for me.
my prayers are softer now,
each one a surprise.

Cindy Cherry grew up in Northern Mexico and the Southwest. She writes poems and stories in her head, while walking a labyrinth with her two dogs. She also loves her job working with blind infants; teaching them new ways to “see”.

JENNIFER M SMITH: Ninety-one (part 2)

Submissions, Touching, , ,

There was no more honey.

She drove to the store, independently.
Parked and shuffled in.

There, on the bottom shelf.

The weight of gold, too heavy.
The check-out, too far away.

Impossible, she realized.

She turned and left.

Tap-tapping with her cane to the car.
Then home, to bitter tea.

Jennifer M. Smith is the author of the award-winning book Green Ghost, Blue Ocean. She is a geologist, a chartered accountant, an offshore sailor and a triathlete. Obviously, she can’t sit still. More information and links to other published work can be found on her website at jennifermsmith.com.

JKFORWARD: Flirting at the Dog Park

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , ,

They stand at the dog park, exchanging dating website data about their dogs but not eye contact.

“Mine is eight, Heinz57.”

“Two, some sheepdog, possibly lab.”

Their bodies shift imperceptibly towards each other; relieved glances are exchanged.

Neither says “rescue,” with its long braggers-rights backstory. Volumes spoken with this omission.

JKForward loves flash fiction’s similarity to poetry and enjoys both reading and writing it. She is currently also editing her mother’s lifetime of letters, each a brief glimpse into the past, and weaving them into a portrait memoir.

KATE FAIGEN: All Gone

Amusing, Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

It took three scissor chomps to sever the top of her long, thick ponytail. In her hand, the remains felt like a limb she never thought she’d be without. But her stepmom would be horrified to see her pretty hair gone. She couldn’t wait to show Judith what she’d done.

Kate Faigen’s stories have appeared in Maudlin House, The Daily Drunk, and Reckon Review, among others. She would love another Twitter follower: @k8faigen.