Stillness After the Storm
The power lines hum,
low and uncertain,
like a man trying to remember
the words to a song…
Spring’s Golden Menace
A sneeze hangs in the air like a threat,
while the oak tree chuckles in yellow confetti.
My car wears a coat of guilty dust,
proof of spring’s indecent proposal.
Listening To Handel
This is where
The melody comes in
And the raging mind has
No choice but to simmer…
Her Roses
And the roses sang,
their song rose, they sang
as the pale couple walked
along a path framed by color…
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations — A Review of the West End Musical
Well deserving of all its awarded accolades, Ain’t Too Proud is a masterpiece of entertainment. It takes you to the highs and the lows of the music industry in the sixties…
Quarterly & Special Issues
Submissions next open from June 1 to August 31 2024
December 23, 2025
"She spoke into the silence, her breath rising like smoke. “I just want my dad. Please bring him back to me.”
December 23, 2025
Every year something arrived in my mailbox, before during or after;
the timing unrelated to any mystery
you’d entered and explored
before emerging with that year’s
small parcel summation…
December 22, 2025
“I just wanted to drop this package off for Mr. Gar. He will know what to do with it.” The man tapped his nose, winked, and began to walk out of the store. Before he left, he turned and smiled radiantly. “I do believe I feel the warmth of this store returning. It’s been too cold for too long.”
December 22, 2025
Every Christmas,
I hang a picture of my son
atop my Christmas tree,
along with colorful others...
December 21, 2025
“Once again we come together.
This is the season to sharpen knives,
test the waters, prepare for weather.
Bitter almond, thyme, sage, cloves:
spices this time of year requires.”
December 21, 2025
Switch off the light to understand how a candle dies — turns inward to disappear. A flicker burns stronger, briefly, stills, then darkens...
December 20, 2025
Eight nights. Flicker: By definition, “natural agents that stimulate sight and make things visible.” $2 twinkle strands around an old washstand. Bright, reddened gold.
December 20, 2025
The scent of pine enveloped her as the tinsel on the tree shimmered in the first light of dawn peeking through the front windows.
December 20, 2025
We try to be grown-ups, but troubles in herds invade our home, which is usually secular, and raise our anxiety to levels molecular. Such was our sad state when a package from Adda showed up on our doormat…
December 19, 2025
Dreidels scattered on the table,
gelt as prizes for wins,
latkes warming in the oven,
but, alas, no dessert.
December 18, 2025
"I need a reason to see you and Dad?"
Another knowing smile. Her head tilted and the right eyebrow went up like always. "Right. When I have to practically send your father in the sleigh after you to drag you up here once a year."
December 18, 2025
The solstice sliced us suddenly,
a raging and lonely cold,
a year not going gentle.
December 18, 2025
This late in December — Not just a bud, A fully blooming rose, Small. But still a full rose…
December 17, 2025
Swanson probably didn’t know she was updating an ancient rite. She simply opened her livestream one day in mid-December and talked about how the holidays were making her blue...
December 16, 2025
Once, I was a soldier, brave and bold,
a guardian of sugar-spun realms,
where candy canes grew like trees
and laughter rang like crystal bells.
December 16, 2025
Respecting my friends’ wishes to remain anonymous, I don’t include their names here, as surely some of you would reach out to them. Who wouldn’t want to befriend someone living in a great place to visit?
December 15, 2025
Step through the grand doors of our latest issue, “A Walk Through the Museum,” wherein each piece – whether poem or short story – found inspiration in an artifact, historical site, or artwork. The collection of short stories, poems, and essays delves into the beauty, the wonder, and the need to remember our past while looking to the future.
December 14, 2025
“A single perfectly-browned latke
slid onto his plate…” I stop reading,
cannot go further, until I digest this.
A devout Catholic feeding a Vietnamese
teenager a latke she prepared for him
in the town of Gladness, Connecticut?
December 13, 2025
I am majestic and glorious. Those lovely evergreen candles add a nice Christmassy touch when people walk in the door. Yet, you spend all your time with that puny, insignificant tree in the other room. You ignore me and all my splendor…”
December 12, 2025
She is reduced to a label, a role, a service. But this series shows us what happens when a woman refuses to stay small. When she dares to write her own name back into the story. When survival becomes a kind of authorship.