Tag Archives: expression

HALEY DiRENZO: Good Armor

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Kids snickered at my leopard-print pants. Left them in my locker. Colleagues questioned my pastel blazers. Changed to black. Guests gossiped about my chartreuse funeral gown. But there was no changing from inside the casket. I had finally learned a good outfit was the best armor for facing the unknown.

Haley DiRenzo is a writer, poet, and practicing attorney specializing in eviction defense. Her poetry and flash pieces have appeared in Flash Boulevard, Eunoia Review, and Bright Flash Literary Review, among others. She lives in Colorado with her husband and dog.

CINDY HARUM: Regifting

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

The granddaughter unwraps the gift on her 15th birthday. “Awesome!” she exclaims, holding up red pleather pants to show her mother.

The mother flashes back to 1997—when she was forbidden to wear them to school but slipped them into her backpack anyway. She side-eyes the gift-giver.

The grandmother smiles.

Cindy Harum’s publications include winning six Hallmark greeting card competitions, in which her cards were sold in stores and online, as well as an honorable mention in a Writer’s Digest magazine contest. This is her first published short story.

LISA RABEY: vincent; in the bedroom

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Vincent sits stoically on his bed. His hand gingerly touches his left ear, fingers pressing against what was left of his lobe. A bloody knife sits on the table nearby. He inhales deeply; exhales slowly.

There is no pain or sense of loss.

He feels a profound sense of freedom.

Lisa Rabey (she/they) writes a GenXer about town newsletter at amostunreliablenarrator.substack.com. Her favorite Elizabeth Bennet is Keira Knightley. She is at @herioneinabook.

MELODY LEMING-WILSON: Offering

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

Her first tattoos were memorials. Then an image, then a symbol of sobriety. Each enriches her story. She embellishes her canvas with great care; her children are amused but shrug.

She is making a burning bowl of her skin.

One day everything she is will rise into the morning sky.

Melody Leming-Wilson teaches poetry in Portland, Oregon. She is about ready for a new tattoo.

GRETCHEN IVERS: Brush Strokes

Artistic, Submissions, , , , , ,

She’s painting white against white. It’s an octopus—I know from illuminated glances, stolen when the desk lamp lights each colorless ridge and layer—but to the passing eye, it’s just an empty frame on the textured wall. She shuts the door against me to add another layer of madness.

Gretchen has an octopus painting on her wall, but she supposes you do, too.

CASEY LAINE: Like the Rain

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

Like the rain,
A poem falls
When conditions are propitious.

Emotion builds
Like condensation,
Then drip-drop,
Words patter down

Sometimes the flowing
Quenches your thirst
Or washes you clean.

Sometimes the flooding
Strips you bare
To your foundation.

When a poem falls
Into your heart,
It is best to listen.

Casey Laine comes from a long line of talkative women. She works as Fantasy Editor at Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores and publishes an annual anthology of fiction and poetry for her writing group, Writers Assembled. In her spare time, she chases butterflies with her camera. Find her on Facebook.

ERIK FUHRER: Rose-Shaped Heart

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

You cut your heart into the shape of a rose and fill your chest with acorns. We eat the rose with some chianti on your birthday.

Afterward, you say this is the best birthday you’ve ever had and stuff your mouth with cake as squirrels braid your hair for winter.

Erik Fuhrer is the author of Not Human Enough for the Census, forthcoming from Vegetarian Alcoholic Press. His work has been published in Cleaver, BlazeVox, Softblow, and various other venues. See more at erik-fuhrer.com.

SHAWN FUKUDA: Niqab

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

She loves how it envelops her, how she feels free to move gracefully within it, and when no one is watching, she raises her arms out to her sides and spins around. If only she could do that outdoors and be, feel safe!

Her dream is both simple and unattainable.

Shawn Fukuda is a former Spanish, and occasionally Japanese, Court and Legal Interpreter, and now a homemaker.