We stand against the conveyor, shins pressing into hard metal, bodies bent at the waist. Black bags tumble from the dark hole and, stiff as corpses, they move past us as if in mobile caskets. All of them in fact like caskets themselves. Black, squarish. An occasional red ribbon tied around a handle like a [...]
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Muddy Skies by Emily Walden
From her aunt’s garden, Alisa smelled lavender–like the perfume her mom sprayed on when she left on nights her dad didn’t come home. Standing in the driveway, she felt hot sunlight against her face as she watched her cousin Luis running towards her from the house. “I got it!” he called, waving as he came [...]
Redemption’s Rescue by Lisa Arnold
coffee-stained James Dean T-shirt blue jeans torn at both knees tenth cigarette burning in ashtray frozen dinner cooking in oven empty Jack Daniels bottle turned on its side twenty-five dollars in pocket eviction notice crumpled on floor empty thoughts ramble inside his weary mind vacant eyes glare through veiled mirror reflection contemplation of a reckless [...]
A Conversation by Cathrine Lødøen
This morning a conversation I overheard. A conversation between a man and his love. “Do you know how much I love you ?” “Oh You are so beautiful to me!” “Your smile makes my world complete!” And I thought ‘oh how lucky these two’ to have a love so true to have a love so [...]
Gifts by Dallas Woodburn
Sam gave me my first kiss. Andrew gave me my first real kiss. Brad gave me my first hickey. Nick wrote me a love letter. Tyler wrote me an apology letter. Paul gave me that Christopher Moore book. Keith took me to the Blind Pilot concert. Alan gave me daffodils in a glass vase. Mike [...]
An Unlikely (Whistling) Hero by Carrie Anne Tocci
“Like the Greek hero?” I asked Ulisses after I struggled to pronounce a tenth grade student’s name during my first days teaching ninth and tenth grade English at Colegio Panamericao in Bucaramanga, Colombia. “Yes,” he nodded with an understanding face letting me know that other foreign teachers struggle with his name too. Little did I [...]
Man and Boy by Penny Luker
I loved him as a baby; soft and pink with big blue eyes and a laugh to melt your heart. I loved him as a boy, with floppy hair and wide bright smile; he made every day a treasure. I loved him as a teenager; tall and slim with thoughtful mind; a gentle quiet youth. [...]
Bye-Bye, Pretty Boy by Patricia Wellingham-Jones
You’re so handsome in all the right ways— black hair with an endearing wave, shoulders broad enough to strain your shirt, height well over my five-foot-ten and that face so pretty older women swoon. I almost fell until I noticed your pointed lizard-tongue flick in and out, the feral gleam deep in your dark eyes, [...]
Real Men by Kai-Narada Croft
Real men There are real men Out there Looking for a perfect women Who wants to be treated Like queens Not sluts Cos real men want Real love Not just booty And boobs Real men Are looking for Strong intelligent women Who are independent And full of confidence In themselves The way real men get [...]
Unexpected Ally by Lauren Bottner
I wonder when the shift happened, the sliding from archenemy to ally. I wonder which one of us waved the white flag, if there was a desertion or if a third side was formed. I flip through our childhood archives on the lookout for when we stood side by side instead of climbing over each [...]
Extra Time by Marian Smith
Norm is transfixed, but he can hear a persistent voice just behind his left ear. “Tea?” “No.” “No what?” “No and for God’s sake shut up.” “Very polite, I don’t think.” Gary Lineker is getting very excited. “…And it’s Argentina 2, England 1 with only three minutes to go until the end of extra time.” [...]
Wayne by Patricia Wellingham-Jones
Wayne was short and dumpy, slow to speak, stood in corners. His dark hair always needed a cut, his shirts were faded and worn. He lived in a gloomy house on the far side of town. Wayne and his sister delivered our paper, picked up odd jobs wherever they could. Every nickel counted. It took [...]
Sunny Days by Penny Luker
Ralph downed two paracetamols to ease the pain in his arm and leg. He looked down out of the window and could see a young man picking up rubbish from the golf course. The man’s bronzed skin merged with his bright red hair as he marched efficiently across the green. Slowly and carefully Ralph sat [...]
Mercy by Marie Parc
My ex-husband, who’s just finished replacing the toilet in my son’s bathroom, struggles to his feet. “Done,” he says, and flushes the tank to prove it. “You didn’t need to do this,” I tell him again. “I was planning to pay somebody.” “No big deal.” His knees creak as he bends over to pick up [...]
Waiting by Gail Shazor
Every man is born of woman Of mothers and grandmothers Aunts and sisters Nurtured in the belly of hands Palms to palms held close Inter-joined and together Touching hearts and souls Becoming one with the world Born of prayer, of God A desire for us In that we can ever continue To be raised up [...]
male tempo by nenette
l. no chime stars tonight; just a gallery of dull skies: a blind galaxy peaked by the rattling quartet of human drums spitting blazes of inhibited conversations, you know, the jousts about aging moons, plum of women’s tears, the obscenity of trysts and death.. and the porch lit up as if fireflies turned to dragonflies, [...]
Sacrificeby Karen Harvey
When he was born his father cried tears of joy. When he was a baby his father played a great part in caring for him. When he was a small boy he looked up to his father and wanted to grow up just like him. When he became a teenager he wanted to leave home [...]
Donny by Dana Verdino
Cats can’t read clocks, or books for that matter, but they know things. My cat Donny knows that dinner is at five o’clock, that I don’t like hairballs, and that the men will always leave before his breakfast at six. What I do is have the men stay at my apartment because it’s more important [...]
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Cover Girl Stephenie Meyer: An Interview (Part One) with Deb Smouse
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Live Alone and Like It The Classic Guide for the Single Woman
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My Plan to Thrive while I Deal with Grief this Holiday Season
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Life, Love and Lesson Plans by Wynn Godbold
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Under the Bed by Jody Keisner
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