Vision Board – by Jennifer Kapler

I tacked the photos to a corkboard alongside the other photos I had been accumulating since childhood for my dream life.

Spoiled Fruit – by Jay McKenzie

I do not like the bird-boned cage she carries herself in these days, or the skin that grows thinner like old paper each time I see her.

Ashes- by Fiona Catherine Clark

Moonlit snow lies thick. Dark pines shelter the still garden, their shadows lie
elongated, spear-head sharp, on crystal whiteness. Dawn comes late.

Little Boy – by Susan Duffield-Lodge

Children immortalized for all eternity, their last moments frozen in time…

On the way to your dying – by Leslie Casey

We’ve become an island. Distant from the moon moving the tides,
the wind blowing rain in a slant song through the night.

Strong Like Freyja – By Diana Lynn Gustafson

Annika giggled because she knew there was no place safer than her great-grandfather’s lap where she could listen to Norse legends.

Harold’s Lawn – By Brett Leanne

Irene remembers how the neighbourhood once thrived, pride sprouting up with every sharp blade of Kentucky Blue in tidy patchwork that stretched all the way down the block.

Something Shiny in the Mining Townsite of Mount Sheer – By T.L. Tomljanovic

We watched some of the older kids lay pennies on the rails, defacing the King beneath the train’s heavy iron wheels. Frank wasn’t keen on the idea, but he went along with whatever I said. I always came up with the best ideas.

Ties that Bind – by N.E. Rule

The morning sun streams in through the hospital window. I watch its slow ascent up Kevin’s small frame. When it finally dances across his smoke-streaked face, he shoots up with a gasp. The handcuffs clang against the bedrails and yank him back down.

Your Weight on my Shoulders – by Suann Amero

The motor cortex in my brain sends electrical signals through my spinal cord and peripheral nerves to my muscles, causing them to contract. My muscles flex, extend, rotate – on command. I never thought about whether or not my body would do what I wanted it to, until now.