Table for Three by Cassa Bassa

I try to look through the foggy glass windowpane to a far away escape.My agony drowns in the absence of tears and apologies.Questions rushing through my fragile mind.The endless waiting, the future without our past, the changed heart without warning, the intrusion of our love, all these heartaches I can’t put into words. None of…

Face Behind Bars by Bogdan Dragos

her hair made her face look like it was always behind bars or trapped in barbed wire Nothing could get through those thin bars but the mouth of the bottle as it joined hers strands of hair would get inside her mouth and between her lips and into the bottle and she wouldn’t care one…

The Ribbon of a Madman’s Weave by Tony Ashenden

Granite SliverArrowhead I see you spurnedby Pigmy Bowmanyet you suffice and scathethe greening mortar…Mind that delibly recordsattemptmy show and outward personality. This ribbon of a madman’s weaveis the tape of all my sayingsmallborder thin and compass handthe clutch and stayFingers….Placing granite slabs to facetheir palms of tungsten fleshtoward the shortened eye. Yet soonthe tongue of…

A Big Job by Dawn Pisturino

As Dmitri untied the rope around Dr. Morgan’s neck, his cellphone suddenly buzzed in his pocket.  He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out the annoying thing.  It always interrupted him at the most inopportune time.        “Daddy, you promised to come to my play.  Where are you?”        Shit, Dmitri thought. He had…

The Lovely Lady Who… by Britta Benson

For this man, I’m just the lovely lady who comes in once a week and plays Ludo with him. He has no idea why I visit. Perhaps, he thinks, I’m a community volunteer, like those do-gooder older women in pale lilac cashmere cardigans, widows, who seem to spend all their free time knitting more pale…

Self-Forgiveness by Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy

With lowered eyesand a hushed mouth,silence my sighs,while in mid route. Plastered smiles fly,push sorrows down.Happy disguise,covers deep frowns. Frantic inside,loud voices shout,hurt and chastised,in and throughout. Draw breath in tight,knees hit the ground,faith flows up high,angelic sounds. Sweat beads baptize,hopes swirl around,wishes arise,dissolving clouds. Stop to reviseregrets and doubts.Life provides light,that clear and sprout….

And then there was Solace by Shobana Gomes

And then there was solace, Here where the sun’s light trail, Between trees, On the fallen leaves, Caressing my uplifted face, Seeking silence, Of the quieted woods. I have watched its touch, heal the wounds, of tree barks, of the surviving leaves, that lay un-crumbled  upon the ground, where I sit, unperturbed by the, undisturbed….

This Species has to be Killed in its Infancy by Bogdan Dragos

the kid handed him a piece of paper and asked, “Can we put this one on the fridge?” It wasn’t a drawing “What’s this?” he asked There were words written on it I am getting in my car and I’m driving very far Following the star of my dreams It seems my destiny awaits as…

The Devil by Joni Caggiano

Mount Ararat holds the wind in the silence of snow peaks where splinters of the ark rub nails creaking in her cypress side hope traversing mountain wafts lavender, jasmine, and wisteria sing woeful at an oath once absolute as God sends a strike of lightening into hell to stoke the firestorm of evil that lurks…

I’m Not Drunk by Bharath Upendra

I flushed my emotions down the drain, banging the door shut behind me. No matter how bright the day gets, I only sense darkness around. Morning is just another night with extra, sometimes unneeded light. Looking at the stains on the wall, I try to count my blessings. Not in vain, though. The gift of…

Touch and Taste by Jeff Flesch

every little touch, and taste takes me to another place desire afire, living inside the tranquility of the seas with dark blue and indigo too a backdrop of the love inside our truth they live in the skies burnt amber, and copper filled jewels, raining down love on me and you -JEFF FLESCH Jeff grew…

AQUA – Part 4

(A short story in Vietnamese by Trần Băng Khuê, translation into English by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm) PART 1- PART 2- PART 3- PART 4- Last night, I couldn’t close my eyes. I left my bed, headed for the kitchen, and found a knife with a small black handle, placed it next to a lemon…

Already Talking like a Real Man by Bogdan Dragos

their deaths were four days apart first went father and then mother And now the dark smoke took the shape of a cat and clung to his shoulder, digging sharp claws into his tender flesh “It hurts,” he cried “Oh, shut up,” the smoke cat said, “Be a man. In this world only the strong…

We’re Animal Lovers Through and Through by Don Matthews

How nice to see the farmer Hand-feed his farm-grown cow We get a nice warm feeling inside Everything’s fine right now Where the farm-grown cow goes next We blot out from our mind It’s headed to the abattoir How very, very kind Into the supermarket we do go Along the red-meat aisle See all the…

Submissive Fogeys by Lamittan Minsah

Once upon a time, all animals considered Lion their perfect leader. They called him “King” ‘cause he never lost the ballot, and they loved him so much. Had he not said: “My fellow citizens, I am your leader, your honest and trustworthy ruler, on this seat I will sit, and after I my deputy Bear.”…

Enigma by Joni Caggiano

fading, my heart envisions a ripe fig molting tan skin lying like a sad mason jar empty, left alone, with a scar odors float like memories sparrows sing their hope your face a repeat movie reel fingers weep aching to feel your body folding into mine tears of laughter jumping rolling over hills of bare…