Cindy Sage Iraq casts my memories in the muted color of sand.When the red sky plucks feathers from the Blackhawk,These lost moments are stranded on the tarmac.And I think of you, the barefoot boy.I was the soldier with the fifty cal. and a bruise.Don’t say you remember me,watching from the turret in the mid-day heat.You…
Author: Editor Team
Barbed Wire
Vince Wilkinson Rattled in burns, adorned in scabs,crowned in a helmet of steel thorns,from which cavernous roars came. Naked,wrapped in barbed wire.While wieldinga blade adornedin flames…a warlord It was made to be cold,made to work well,not to break. And the eyes glitteredat the sight of fire.The flames dancing.…So inviting…so easy. From the flamesthe new lord emerged.With…
Anti Pastoral
Robbie Christensen I haven’t felt the kiss of the creek since I was a young man. I often wonder who stood here, in this exact place, 2000 years ago. Who was the man who stalked deer and rabbits through the swamp that was this business park, deerskin thrown over his shoulder, bowstring taut what name did he…
Anniversary
Janee Sybert Amidst a hot bath, the steam rises Suffocating the room with the sickly smell of roses They sit in the tub, soaking up the water The champagne taste still lingers heavily on the palate A celebration Was what it was dreamed to be. Dancing on the floor, feeling the embrace Of your rough hands on my soft skin Once more, left alone Wishing for the sharp stems to lay in my palms Now they sit, soaking up heat Wilting in the water.
Alone in the burrow
Addie Francis Books piled high, tea in hand The glow of the light reflecting off the pages Alone for the season, no work or place to be. Snow falling outside my window Time goes by, snow melts. The book pile dwindles. Work creeping up, people to see, places to go Book pile is gone Temperatures rise Work…
Rebirth
by Amanda Carsley re·birth. (noun). a) A new or second birth. b) Spiritual regeneration 1. Herons rise in a flock out of crystalline tributaries. 2. Golden ruptures of lightning clash in a rainstorm and drip liquid life into the earth’s veins. 3. Prisoner footsteps of fiery sunlight tread across the dungeon of shadowy night. 4….
Catching Your Breath
by Grace Scott Hangers click in a hot breeze, the smell of cotton and laundry detergent mixes with the scent of roses and other wild things. The urge to laugh bubbles in my chest, the desire to dance as I hang up damp clothes. The wide porch, the peeling paint, the warm pavement under my…
Scars
by Kyrsten Bowden
Will You Watch the Setting Sun with Me?
by Hope Cox The warm glow – an evening sun –submerges into the fluffy cotton cloudsradiating streaks, vivid hues:ruby red, golden yellow, lavenderpurple, tangerine orange a faintwisp of rosy pinkfloating through the sky. As the sun settles – deep intothe Earth-touching the coniferous trees,the lakes, the ocean,the streets, businesses, school buildings –our homes- As it…
The Orchard
by Alyssa Belknap Tomorrow we will sit in first period,legs draped over desks and metal bars.We will roll our eyes and exchange glances,wonder what the World will take from ustoday. But all that is for tomorrow. Now I bask in the foreground. Listento cicadas whisper secrets,toss their shells aside, like old cottontraining bras. Only to…