By: Hillard Morley The face grew red and bulging and awful. Jeremy watched the hands instead, lifted as though taking an oath, the palms exposed, signalling an explosion. He distanced himself, imagined the scene in a cartoon panel, spikes of red…
By: Alan Swyer Four days after their mother’s funeral, Richie Kalt and his sister Bonnie strong-armed their father into joining them for dinner at his favorite neighborhood Italian place. There were a few awkward attempts at chit-chat while the three of…
By: M.A. Lang Brainard Freeson slowly and methodically put away his tools. He glanced over at the small girl who sat on her bed, quietly sobbing. He snapped the case shut and left the room. The young girl’s mother sat…
By: Doug Van Hooser Stray Bullet In Chicago stray is not a dog with sad eyes It’s not a bar ribbed cat meowing at your door It’s a piece of harm that tears flesh and splatters lives A Chicago omelet of…
By: Gary Van Haas I couldn’t believe they said it. They were actually talking about suicide and the best way to do it as though it was a casual everyday matter. They even went into detail of how to go about…
By: Gary Van Haas Strange eerie rumblings began underground at CERN laboratory near Geneva on the Franco-Swiss border. The gargantuan particle accelerator whined ominously in a low grinding pitch. The device was used for boosting particle beams, turning them into high energy…
By: Megha Sood 1. Aberration I’m an aberration, An anomaly, A certain twist in the tale How do you feel when you masks peel off in layers? and every time you shred your pain and misery You see more layers…
By: Jean Lagacé Gulfport, Mississippi. 1990 Lyn (short for Pralina) was not herself that morning. She had forgotten to bring him jam with his toast and never came back to refill his cup with fresh coffee after he had finished his breakfast….
By: James G. Piatt Idols of Stone Idols of stone, the remains of the ancient times of dinosaurs, pharaoh’s, pagan priests, kings, and tyrants, rest on tiny pebbles in a soft forest grove. They are silent during the day but speak…
By: John Maxwell O’Brien Down by the Echo Lake (A Villanelle) Down by the echo lake in spectral dreams tin souls prepare their wake Green hands ring round the rake A lime of veils down by the echo lake Watered…