Mama Says – by Finnian Burnett

Wedge your keys between second and first finger, Mama says,
with a thumb pressed against the back of the key.

Capo D’Orlando – by Shaun Bernier

She wishes she hadn’t said they could walk alone while she dressed. They still have not reappeared.

A Bump in the Road – by Susan Duffield-Lodge

Moirin’s kerchiefed head bobbed up into view as she made her way up the metal stairs at the front of the car.

Razor Blades Sheathed in Velvet – by Zelda C. Thorne

Eleven voice messages. The first three are garbled, vicious insults interspersed with begrudging apology and admissions of profound, earth-shattering love. Nathan’s voice cracks, wounded.

Shadows – by Véronique Béquin

You didn’t say a word about whether she knew that I was the eye behind the viewfinder.

Four Siblings On a Rock – by Elizabeth Jannuzzi

Three Girls On a Stone Wall Four Siblings On a Rock – by Elizabeth Jannuzzi Photo: “Entre Nous” Credit: Willabel Cole Mitchell Description: We see the backs of three young girls. Ages maybe 6 or 7. They are sitting on a stone wall overlooking a landscape. They wear sweet little girl dresses and have their […]

What Will You Say? – by Andrew Shaughnessy

Should warmth be a word reserved to the world of touch? Laughter

and joy, reserved to the world of emotion?

Thoughts and Prayers – by Renee Cronley

The pungent scent of sulfur

fires out from the gangrenous fumes

of societal decay we don’t smell anymore

I Sensed It Was Beginning – I Sensed It Was Ending – by Lindsey Harrington

The burnt roast from yesterday hanging in the air,
another, in a long list of disappointments.

To Flame, To Flee – by Jay McKenzie

I have been chosen because I can move silently with my nimble feet not yet weighted by adulthood, though tonight, I feel clumsy