By: Gulshan Ara Little nursery underneath a half-burnt bunkerKerosine lamps hanging from the ceilingTiny premature babies wrapped in half torn blanketCurling up in their tiny cribs, struggling to stay warmSucking the last drop of milk from an empty milk bottleStruggling…

By: Jim Bates Northwoods lake countryWater glistening waves lappingHot sun scorching sandOn the beach playing. Big brother in charge of younger siblingsMomentarily distracted by building a sandcastleBaby Will toddles out onto the dock stumbles and falls off sinking fastBig brother…

By: Rehanul Hoque (Dedicated to Taslima Akter Rima) In the lonely hours of a lovelorn heartA wild beauty beckoned to come closer – She sat leaning upon a coral reefHer hair disheveled by the windHer eyes deep as the Pacific,She…

By: John Grey EGRETS Leaving water country behind,they headed for the trees,cadenced wingbeats slow, and I watched themgather in high branchesthat gently shook with their arrival. This was the assembly hour,as darkness closed the air up tight,and the hubbub settled…

By: James Aitchison The British Empire threw up hundreds of bizarre individuals who set out to find fame and fortune in remote corners of the earth.  Scotsman Benjamin Boyd (1801-1851) was an ambitious young London stockbroker whose thirst for adventure…

By: April Mae Berza For Koume, my cousin My cousin is an anarcho-syndicalistWho loves Dojacat but you told meIt is impossible. Politics is prettyMusic, I said. The world is full of wars.I heard an infant sobbing from GazaEven if I’m…

By: Suveeksha Viswanathan When home seems far from home, And the ever-widening recesses Taketh me. Like edifices huge and narrow street, Implores nature to stretch Her aching feet. This overwhelming sense of alienation, Privy thoughts like daggers Deplete the soul….

By: Amanda Niamh Dawson Slab All Free fallDream crawlTo shoreOnce more Fly freeSun seesAll realKeen feel LongboardLost lordsSpin swordsWood godsAll towardWet yardsLay sodTo findThe grindEarth’s flashGet dashedBy waves Surf’s graveBe saved Here We Go Oceans flowDeepest glowLove in dreams Supreme…

By: CLS Sandoval The Biopsy  My husband and my baby were waiting in the waiting room.  I knew it was better that way, but I pretty immediately wanted to hear her gurgles and giggles and for him to hold my…

By John RC Potter If I couldI would wear a sign for all to see, words of wisdom and wit: Emotionally Closed for the Season and perhaps thatwould protect mefrom those whodesperately crave lovebut cannot fully give it. ### John…