By: Sandeep Kumar Mishra Icy winds filled with chimney smoke Signaled the burning of Christmas block, When colorful lights all around gleam The holy monks sing the merry theme, Sacred lilies, decorative ivory, fill homes Town to town our joyful echo…

By: Lynn White It was my first attempt at DIY hair dying. My friend had transformed her dull brown into glossy chestnut and Patricia thought it perfect to transform her unnatural blond. So I helped her out. Tiger Lily, it said…

By: Lynn White I’m living alone and loving it, that I am. I had a good ‘un though, but wouldn’t want to train another. Takes years to train ‘em. That couple last night, what a one she was. You could…

By: Ruth Z Deming There he is, Frank Kelso Wolfe, coming down the stairs in his slippers and bathrobe. Whistling, he looks around for his mom and dad. The kitchen clock reads ten-thirty. He’s slept late again, but who wouldn’t. It…

By: Leslie Bloom My children must always bring something with them when we leave the house. Seriously why can’t leaving home ever be easy? No, instead it is like a freak show with my five-year-olds. It never goes smoothly. Someone always…

By: Kimberly Potter Kendrick Alone in the darkness of my mind Empty, numb, I’ve run out of tears It’s happened so many times Walk away from my child, they say Issues or not, his actions generate consequences for you I…

By: Adam Levon Brown Dumbbells of anger assault my unfed stomach while I strive for another repetition in pages of tears. I rip them clear from books of love and paint myself a picture of guilt, hidden safely behind the bed…

By: Adam Levon Brown I wear scarves like sleeves because I could not, would not feel my emotional headlock of grief. My teeth are broken and missing because I refused to acknowledge that I, too, feel pain. My back is damaged…

By: Kimberly Potter Kendrick I live in my mind, a world nobody sees Some days are filled with sunshine, flowers, and green fields of corn Other days the cloud overhead dark and thick The ocean roars so loudly I cannot…

By: Murari Sharma He was shivering and alone, trekking on a trail in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas. An unseasonable snowstorm caught him near Kangla Pass and dumped more than two feet snow in a couple of hours. He…