By: Tom Ball      I say, I have a myriad of difficulties in my life. My true love has affairs with androids. And I was redundant as an architect. An android had replaced me and the stipend I get from the…

By: D A Angelo Merriment  Sometimes it’s good to walk in the countryside to watch a merry-go-round of clouds while the sky shifts to a warm glow. Sometimes it’s good to watch hares pose like National Geographic models in a…

By: Karen O’Leary A doesamples lichendraped bark of an ash tree.She leaps into inner safety.Weeds spilloverthe wooden stairs,not seeing human spoilsin years. A lazy stream with smallicyislandswinds by trees bentto the right. Creativestudents take easels then pull outsketchbooks,tryingto grasp the…

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: David Patten Daybreak, water the color of slate.  A lone figure stands in contemplation, close enough to the river that its current splashes over her boots.  This stretch of the Niagara resides in the commonplace, revealing nothing of the…

By: David Patten Amaya can’t suppress a wry smile.  An item of gossip has reached her.  It seems there are those intent on labeling her a witch.  Such an archaic term, unused for centuries, its connotation pejorative.  Amaya ponders that…

By Jacob Austin Danny hadn’t visited his father in almost two years, but not by choice. He had moved several states over to take a job with a residential development company, and his busy work schedule made travel next to…

By Rich Elliott I, Brother Nicholas, your most humble servant, submit this narrative on Holy Thursday, in the year of our Lord fifteen hundred and thirty-two, at the request of Abbot Anthony, our most Holy Father, who wishes a record…

By: Richard LeDue The State of the World From the First Floor Autumn fog is quiet as thoughts about deathwe silence with streaming services, wine on a Tuesday, memes, candy shaped edibles, workplace worries uprooting our down timelike a bored…

By Nolo Segundo You always have to choose,on or the other–one will deceive you everydamn day, because ego isa trickster,a liar,a cheater,telling you how great you are,how smart, how kind…while the other will alwaysbe honest with you, if–and it’s a…