Category: Writing

my father is a gardener by Logan Hale
sunlight in the graveyard carries your left lung away in an orange watering can sandals crunching on the gravel you never wanted to see another beautiful day but the earth won’t stop for wounded bodies especially yours especially you in dawn blood light this isn’t the resurrection you dreamed of

Blessed by Amy Koenen
As we sit poolside, warm Sun on our toes Mama feeling her Fentanyl patch I’m blessed for another day Thank you I spoke Your dying has Taught me everything

Shadow Walker by Michael Lee Johnson
I walked into a shadow. I found my mother there. Age is no longer a factor. Though memory leaves a feeling of 98.5 years. But what do shadows, dreams, and what fairies in the dust have in common? She’s no longer suffering from macular degeneration. I can still see her as a 78-year-old son now.

I Conceal My Craft by Michael Lee Johnson
I conceal my craft beneath the shell of an armadillo, snug in its embrace, nestled near its warmth, as insects buzz under the midday sun, where stories collide with struggles, and words fester like unresolved thoughts, distant from the critics’ needle pen hearts. Their relentless demands, cold cash, and hollow praise layered thick with honey

Reverence by Rebecca Bronaugh
Does the night soar beneath your breath? Do you yawn to the sun? It has departed on its pilgrimage to bear witness To the Gods of whom we boast. Do you bruise your knees swollen and mauve and Clasp your exploited hands ‘till dawn? Do you dream of Him and Toss and turn in

Pretty Damn Good (For 7-Eleven) by Sam Hendrian
Picked up a DJOn her way to the partyFiguring he’d do wellFor dinner and dessert.Recited the necessary opinionsTo maintain each other’s favor,Stopping for protectionAt the closest corner store.No Wi-Fi requiredTo hook up to the servers,Using minimal dataAnd AI search results.Well, it was pretty damn good for 7-Eleven,Not a bad boost for discount coffee beansProving that

My God by Slone Leman
last night you asked me,drowsy, and muffled by the pillow,if I believed in God.I said yes but I didn’ttell you that my god lookssuspiciously like you.complete with black choppy bangsthat fall over thethird sparkling eyein the middle of her forehead. in the morning you told methat I’d better bring bug spray to workin an accidentally

Solitude by Chris Collins
breaking the backyard silence a flock of crows finds breakfast as a squirrel hustles by two bumble bees compete with each other on a dandelion blossom for a morning treat a chipmunk cheerfully runs after its mate through the grass enjoying the chase i sit revering this solitude before my morning shift

My Mother Never Got Above Her Station by Martha Ellen Johnson
Beautiful as a 1950s movie star with dark brown hair pulled back into a smooth chignon at the nape of her neck and Revlon lipstick in the shade “Love That Red” applied with skill to shapely Loretta Young lips, she embraced the notion of the perfect 1950s housewife, though she didn’t like the term. She


