Naptime with Mama Stretched out next to Mama one eye open, her hand soft against me, I listen for her voice, her heartbeat while dozing Running in the lane rocks, even Mama gets all happy throwing the ball for me, but I sense her loneliness I am here, Mama, I want to say but I can only lie against her side. She knows I am here, and Buddy too, but it’s Papa she’s thinking of I miss him too, our family walks are now Mama’s walks with us, and then we cozy up on the bed, Buddy sprawled out, but not me, I am listening, silently telling her I am here, I’ll keep you warm and even though the bed is soft, his absence is felt all the same Julie A. Dickson Julie A. Dickson is a long time poet, whose work appears in over 75 journals. Dickson holds a BPS in Behavioral Science, has served on two poetry boards and as a guest editor for several publications. Her work can be found in Blue Heron Review, Lothlorien and Ekphrastic Review, among others. She shares her home with two rescued cats, Cam and Jojo, and advocates for captive elephants. ** Judy’s Bohemian Rhapsody Hindus say soul is the size of a thumb or the point of an awl or a spiritual atom or one ten-thousandth the tip of a hair and lives in a lotus in your chest or your forehead or pervades your body or rides in a chariot driven by intellect Mischievous Judy, in the corner of our eye, guards a carton of tongue depressors each the size of the back of a King George chair she plans to implant in her family of ghosts and claim they are the speechless cardboard souls in everyone’s chest. Her own words vividly paint Van Gogh's that suck you in but should she ever lift the brush from the canvas, she might go mad. Mike Wilson Mike Wilson’s work has appeared in many magazines and in Mike’s book, Arranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic. His awards include the League of Minnesota Poets Award, the Maine Poets Society Award, and the Chaffin/Kash Prize of the Kentucky State Poetry Society. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. ** Languorous? Languorous, as vowel stretch, each glyph laid out in sounding shift, aligned with sleek unbothered reach, with dreams of scents, encounters, rest, now prone, exhausted, inked arms linked. On crumpled pastel, crease and fold, all pillows, hills of dimpled sheets, in crevice, blues, pink, yellows, green, seen stream and sky, buds, blossom, sward, addressed on fabric, ruffled, flesh. Carved capital above slab slump; a classic wage for time-paid age. brawn muscles through to knuckle skin, arch, zygomatic, prominent; what causes stare in emptied air? Poole pottery of former age, a cluttered, indecisive space, past glories, present to be faced, what questions posed above the bed to float around, pets unaware? This is no more the languid tired, nor lackadaisical in mind, dynamic contrast laid to wrest - so what ensues from contemplate? What afterthought has walk aroused? Stephen Kingsnorth Stephen Kingsnorth (Cambridge M.A., English & Religious Studies), retired to Wales, UK, from ministry in the Methodist Church due to Parkinson’s Disease, has had pieces curated and published by on-line poetry sites, printed journals and anthologies, including The Ekphrastic Review. He has, like so many, been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. His blog is at https://poetrykingsnorth.wordpress.com ** Goodbyes Are Too Hard Sandra knew these were her final moments with her golden retriever, Daisy. Daisy had been there for Sandra’s toughest moments in life. She had been there for her mother’s death, her divorce, and most recently, her cancer diagnosis. Sandra found out that she and Daisy had cancer on the same day, and had been on edge ever since. They had just returned from the vet when she found out Daisy had less than a week left. Sandra always thought that Daisy would outlive her, Daisy was always stronger than she ever was. The first few hours after the vet visit the two had been on the bed soaking up their final moments together. Sandra’s other dog, Mack, would be the only one left, so she too lay on the bed soaking up the final moments. Sandra just pondered on how in the world would she say goodbye to her caring, obedient, comforting dog that she loved more than herself. Sandra came to the conclusion that this goodbye was just too hard. Tessa Lawrence Tessa Lawrence is 15 and goes to high school in Ohio. She likes to read, write, watch movies, and play basketball. ** Walking Dogs pester master, after walking for hours, until exhaustion. Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher has been writing since 2010 and has had many micro-flash fiction stories published. In 2018 her book Shorts for the Short Story Enthusiasts was published, The Importance of Being Short in 2019 and In A Flash in 2022. She currently resides on Long Island, New York with her husband Richard and dogs Lucy and Breanna. ** Lady In A Print Dress With Manet and Van Gogh Daydreams of fragrant gardens and nights when she painted the town red dancing the days away with different cats who were mostly dogs -- Poets, painters and philosophers masters of seductive reasoning who were themselves seduced by a ballet whose elaborate choreography often spun out of control -- Once vibrant flowers that now droop and sag exhausted in their beds. dan smith dan smith is the author of Crooked River and The Liquid of Her Skin, the Suns of Her Eyes. He has been widely published in journals as diverse as The Rhysling Anthology and Deep Cleveland Junk Mail Oracle and Dwarf Stars and Gas Station Famous. dan's latest poems have been at The Solitary Daisy, dadakuku, Rattle Prompt Challenge, The Ekphrastic Review and Five Fleas Itchy Poetry. ** Pied Piper I go to bed in my clothes too – a green linen 60s floral shift riding up around my thighs. Nobody sees me but the dogs. Sometimes my frock is a Dior mini: bicolour, retro white and deep blue, the kind of dangerous shade I imagine the Bermuda Triangle might be. I go to bed in it when I’ve been out for a walk, or getting a new tattoo (one arm is almost done, I think). Bed is the only place to wear your very best clothes – those outfits you’ve discovered in op-shops, or inherited as hand-me-downs from deceased dowager aunts who bequeathed them just as you donate your thoughts to the ceiling – to the skylight covered with fallen leaves – because it’s only mid-afternoon, and the sun is shining. Jennifer Harrison Jennifer Harrison is an Australian poet living in Melbourne. She has published eight poetry collections and won numerous prizes, most recently the 2023 Troubadour International Poetry Prize. ** Bedfellows Three mammals resting. If the other two Had recreated this, how would it be? Smells: cotton washed last week, shed fur, not-new- Underwear, heated paws, post-walking me, Sweat and deodorant. Cold tea. Breathed air, With underlays of – what? I couldn’t know If they could say. Three mammals, skin and hair And neural firings, visually on show Through me. I read that dogs are colour-blind, Or partly, so they’re missing my insane Candy-floss patchwork joy. The canine mind Processes pink as grey; the human brain Thinks laundry soap can pass for Alpine Streams. I wonder what I smell like in their dreams. Ruth S. Baker Ruth S. Baker has published in a few poetry journals. She has a special love for animals and visual art. ** Beasties Sated, they sprawl close Unbothered by anxious thoughts Saved from worry’s stab In this riot of quiet I’ve been told they can’t see colour. Debbie Walker-Lass Debbie Walker-Lass is a poet, writer, and collage artist living in Decatur, Georgia. Her work has appeared in Punk Monk Journal, Three-Line Poetry, Haiku Poetry, The Light Ekphrastic, The Ekphrastic Journal, and The Niagara Falls Poetry Journal, among others. She has recently appeared in local spoken-word showcases & attended the Rockvale Writer’s Residency earlier this year. Go Braves! ** Anna …intimate partner violence… -Thoughts …ya’ know when somethin’ happens every single rotten day I don’t give a damn if it’s good or bad truth is it ain’t never good every time it turns out lousy every time an’ I tell ya’ somethin’ else it don’t get no better I mean if somethin’ that looks good comes along which it don’t never come it’s gonna go bad fast you can count on it an’ if it’s bad when it gets here that’s jus’ the beginnin’… -Whispers ‘cept you two a course (speaking like a child) little Sophie you givin’ Mommy yer belly? that’s Mama’s baby girl an big ol’ Lazybones ova here you leanin’ on Mommy askin’ if everything’s OK? everythin’ is perfec’ my good big boy….perfec’! who’s a good boy!!?? who’s a good big boy!!?? want MaMa to rub under yer chin Mr Lazybones? huh? want yer Mama to rub under yer chin my biggest boy (back to her own voice) jesus one a these days or nights that ceiling’s gonna cave in an’ land right on toppa me an’ the dogs and them jerks upstairs is gonna get their wheel a fortune watchin’ all screwed up me an’ the dogs under ‘em them wonderin’ what the hell just happened (little snarky chuckle - 2 beats) it could use a new coat a paint too the ceiling I’ll get right on that t’marra yeeeah! -Thoughts it’s stinkin’ amazin’ that he thinks he can come waltzing in here every single night every single night an’ beat the hell outta me smellin’ like a brewery lookin’ like a fer real nut job an’ the mouth on ‘im! Jeeeezus! mouth like a truck driver which he ain’t he’s one a them guys where they’re doin’ road work he stands there all day long like some fat wax statue twirlin’ that sign from real early in the mornin’ to early afternoon to late afternoon can you imagine? SLOW STOP SLOW STOP perfec’ job for the bastard those are the only two speeds he knows he’s been doin’ that job now two days quittin’ t’marra says he’s too old his back is killin’ him his feet are killin’ him his hands are killin’ him an’ he’s killin’ me but I don’t blame him fer quittin’ he is too old an’ it’s a stupid job anyways… Whispers, Thoughts, and occasional out loud Words … (WORDS - Whispered aloud barely audible…) Eddie… (Anna leans over groaning every bit of her body aching from old age and years of doing a whole lotta nothing she digs through the mess on the floor pulls a new smoke out of a crumpled pack tries to light the cigarette CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK the lighter finally lights after seven tries. Lazybones does not move a muscle.) Don’t ask me why they call ‘em lighters when that’s the one thing they can’t do stupid things. Eddie he’ll be home any minute crash through the door head right to the ice box that’s weird I know it ain’t no ice box jus’ a habit left over from when I was a kid 50 million years ago (bad British accent) Excuse me. Pardon my lack of couth. I mean, of course, The Re-fridge-er-a-tor, Honey-Bun. Do excuse me. an’ sure enough -Thoughts like he’s on cue or somethin’ Eddie slams open the door… …wait…ain’t that a weird thing to say? SLAMS open the door! I don’t know It jus’ don’t sound right to me anyways he slams open the door grabs a beer from the refrigerator drinks practically the whole thing in one swaller an starts staggering towards the bed lookin’ like a ape little Sophie makes her exit straight under the bed sometimes the fat drunken jerk even hits the dogs which really gets my goat -OUT LOUD WORDS Is dis what’choo bin doin’ all day long chain smokin’ dem cancer sticks lookin’ at the ceilin’ and talkin’ like some kinda crazy mental case to dem stupid mutts -THOUGHTS he grabbed me by the front a my moomoo holy christ here we go again cigarette sparks flair up burn out ashes on the bed that son of a… see here’s what gets me what gets me is that mostly it’s silent the back of his fat hand across my lef cheek I woulda thought it a made some kinda noise but I don’t remember hearin’ nothing ain’t that weird? -WORDS You lazy bitch you better start doin’ somethin’ ‘round here sides takin’ up space and stinkin’ up the joint! you hear me? huh!? you hear me? what’re yous deaf? an’ yer mangy reekin’ mutts too get ‘em the hell outta here -THOUGHTS fat hand across the lef cheek again silent poor little Soph I hear her whinin’ under the bed poor little thing wish I had a gun I swear were married now 47 years man!...people shoulda laid they eyes on Eddie when I very first met him… oh my god talk about a lady-killa a real dish I ain’t lyin’ an’ me…ohhh me… when I’s young… I wan’t too bad on the ol’ eyes either get me? an’ ya’ know I’m pretty sure we was in love an’ the plans! lawd have mercy! what we was gonna do you wouldn’t believe then time…I don’t know… it’s like some kinda miracle ain’t it it’s here it’s gone an’ so are you gone see ya latta alligatta bye-bye you out after amountin’ to nothin’ but sad my cheek hurts know what’s funny through this whole nasty nightly brawl Lazybones never moved I think I heard him groan once like he was dog-talkin’ to us shut up yous! can’t ya’ see I’m tryin’ to sleep over here. then the king of the castle makes hisself heard… -WORDS …be useful fer a change an’ turn off the light I’m gettin’ up early gotta drive right by the road work to get to The Red Ash Bar wanna stop first an’ tell that little foreman twerp I quit! give my SLOW STOP sign to some kid lookin’ fer his first ball-bustin’ job -THOUGHTS while I was leanin’ over to turn off the light I grabbed another smoke will miracles never cease the lighter lit on the first CLICK! In-freakin’-credible! Eddie’s already snorin’ LOUD I’s thinkin’ ‘bout what I’s gonna do t’marra an’ out from under my side a the bed here comes little Sophie stepping carefully ova her big brotha not that he would care….or even know Lazybones he likes to relax he groaned a little groan when Soph stepped ova him Sopje lays down on the other side both of us ready for a little siesta Eddie’s snores is get louder an’ louder an’ my little baby girl my sweet Sophie rolls over and gives me her belly FIN (until the morrow.) John L. Stanizzi John L. Stanizzi is the author of 15 poetry books, the newest of which are SEE (A book of ekphrastic poems), Feathers & Bones, and Viper Brain. His latest collection Entra La Notte will be out in December. John was named winner of The Ekphrastic Review’s Nine Lives Ekphrastic Marathon, an incredible honour, one he says he will cherish always. A former Wesleyan University Etherington Scholar, and New England Poet of the Year,John was awarded an Artist Fellowship from the Connecticut Office of the Arts and Culture for work on his new memoir, Bless Me, Father, for I Have Sinned. ** The Art of Deception "Suppose the Truth is a woman -- what then?" Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil " If one, settling a pillow by her head Should say: 'That is not what I meant at all; That is not it at all.'" T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Appearances can be deceiving. When her grandmother, a teacher for most of her life, bought a wig she never explained that it was because she couldn't afford to have her hair done anymore, to make herself presentable for the classroom. The wig was grey. (Quiz: how could youth desert us like a vicious wind?) Brushing her dog's red hair she thought of sea air, the crisp crash of waves, floating to a stand-still so like her life, naps after long walks to the dog park by a busy street. She'd tried to beat sentient failure; to take a writing class, to write a villanelle, its origin from the Langue d'Oc both countrified and earthy, unlike the Langue d'Or -- "the language of gold" spoken in Paris. But she couldn't understand Ezra Pound's passion for vagabond troubadours his "periplum" -- the center of an empyrean journey -- his modernist translation of Provencal love. Wearing a broad-brimmed hat, he questioned 18th century lyricism -- why travel was like a song -- Gaily the Troubadour touched his guitar, as he was hast'ning home from the war... 2 World Wars were over (Thank God!) but how could Pound's poetry -- his Cantos -- explain why she was born with red hair? Don't let a man put his hat on your bed! older women said. It had been a last straw, really when such a statement was used to describe red-heads as whores; what the family called her grand-pere's amour, a legal assistant in the city. How she loved her red-haired dog, Monsieur Emmanuel! named for Emmanuel Kant -- or was it Descartes? Philosophy and philosophers were so confusing. After she'd met a man with an attractive mixed-breed at the dog park she had started a class- required villanelle, writing on an Empire Cafe napkin: O how often life's a mad deception! The air smoke-yellow in the city streets, How I dressed for yesterday's reception -- The black dress, a fashionable conception, My love, a 'mess of shadows for your meat'; This tattoo, from days when I took action... That was as far as she got. It was hot. She'd pulled on a sleeveless house-dress and gone to bed with Emmanuel: 2 cups and an empty plate lost in the bed-covers the only evidence she hadn't been alone last night, a fixed figure painted in tossed colors a woman so unlike another of Aylward's portraits, a regal woman hair done up, dress with a dark blue fabric sheen -- like the mystery of her chickadee why she seemed to be a kind of Bird Woman, elegant, with 5 birds -- one, like a miniature kingfisher (perhaps a blue jay?) in a glass cage; one small and reddish -- a finch? Then the large head of a crane questioning confinement near her shoulder (She, like me, the voice in this poem) must be her "other self," portrayed with avian companions wearing shadowed, storm-sky blue posed with a parrot -- But reader, I have Emmanuel! whose name means God is with us, and I hope to heaven he is so that a woman with red hair could have a red-haired dog, his body stretched beside her in an unmade bed disheveled on a Sunday as she explores her dreams, the sea caressing her bare feet -- the time-free days her heart can reach. Laurie Newendorp Laurie Newendorp is a poet writing in Houston. Twice nominated for Best of The Net, she is a graduate of The Creative Writing Department (MA in Poetry), The University of Houston. Like Pound, she favours love quests in southern France, and the poetry forms created there, preferring the Sestina. "Gaily The Troubadour” quoted in the poem, is a song written in the 1820s by Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797 - 1839). ** After the Walk He is lying sprawled on the sheet, My favorite, the one that is pink. “What a charmer,” I think and blink. He blinks back. Slow and Languid. I smile at his wrinkled eyelids, He turns to his side, making the bed lurch And I watch the affection surge in his eyes as a shine. The time is way past nine, We are lazing around in bed. My little boys are resting their heads After a run through the park, Several strings of woofs-woofs and barks. Their tails are quiet with an occasional quiver, Listening to the tales of the river That passes behind the house. They are holding back all urges to pounce And lying back with lolling tongues, The rituals before sleep sets in have begun. I pull out the chain which reminds me of her And of things that were Her black furred boy, our black furred boy, Flicks his tail on my hand, he is not really coy. My eyes blur with tears as I remember. It was just last December. You lay your head on the other side of bed, The boys were sated after having been fed, And you told me you were dying. I accused you of lying. You smiled and asked something of me, I ignored you and got up to brew that tea, But your eyes followed me out of the room. I had not expected to hear news of your doom, Yet I came back and cuddled against you, Under the covers, and let my brew cool. The black tail had flicked on my hair And I had no laughter to spare, But you let out a light giggle, And tickled me till I wiggled. The boys also joined in the fun. Yes, my grief is not yet done, And a black-tail flicks again at my arm Seeking attention is part of his charm And I let out a giant smile. It has been a while Since my lips pulled up all the way. The boys have noticed it, haven’t they? He wags his tail in response, proud indeed. It is easy to push away my need To have you around all the time, When a dog is crooning and trying to mime Right beside me as I try to recall What was making me bawl. A ball is shoved at my feet, A bark and playful blink follow in a beat. I forget what I was thinking about. Yes, yes, I had meant to shout And ask you why you left And left me languishing and bereft But the boys seem to know That a ball throw Is the nudge I need To get out of the cycle of cry, rinse and repeat. I miss you terribly my love. My arms get a full-on shove, I raise my head and look at him You know his fur can use a trim I extend my fingers and caress his tummy, He looks at me like he looked at his mummy-- —you. You shined so bright honey! He farts on my face, and no it isn’t funny. Don’t you dare laugh darling! You had been so charming, So full of zest, life, and laughter. It is you who they take after. Making me live life, eat, sleep, When I would just rather weep. They give me faith that I will heal. His nose tickles my feet, and I squeal. He gives a cheeky grin, I swear. You were so lovely my dear His smile reminds me of the day When the sky was overcast and gray And you were sunshine and bright And we binged on Turkish delight While watching the Telly And laughter rumbled in our bellies. Suddenly, a car horn goes by the window. I, I need to get out of this limbo. He is up now, attentive and alert. Shucks! his paw has embedded dirt. I get a lick on my nose, I am drained now, from grief and its throes. He comes and lies beside me, He is gleeful like you and just as free. And things are no longer bitter, perhaps they can be sweet. Surabhi Katyal Surabhi Katyal (she/her) is a writer, translator, psychotherapist, and researcher based in Rajasthan,India. She says that writing and reading have held her together while she has lived with a decade-long bundle of chronic pain and psychosocial disability. Currently, she is translating verses of Sant Raidas and Maithili Sharan Gupt into English. She is also working on editing the English translations and doing the Hindi translations of A Vennila poems. She hopes that her cats will let her focus on her writing projects more (unlikely). ** I Might’ve Had a Sex Dream In the dream, I leave work and drive 18 hours nonstop, searching for an isolated cabin in the deep, dark woods. The sun sets, the sun rises. I never question if I’m awake. Did I mention, in the dream, I’m fired for watching porn? If I’d gone home, I might’ve told my husband it was a layoff; instead, I toss my phone out the window when passing the exit for home. Unlike the dream, I never watch porn, only read romance novels and inhale murky phrases like “wet friction,” or “grunting into foam.” Porn might’ve clarified the details. Critical anatomy shots at critical moments. I’m a visual learner. Before we married, my husband would run off after sex to confess, to seek absolution from his parish priest for a sin he’d committed, knowingly, willingly, and may I say–enjoyably. In the dream, I tilt into switchbacks and risk passing eighteen-wheelers, slowly climbing the mountainside. Did I mention the downpour? Wild lightning strikes hit dead trees and spark a fire. God, the heat. Sweat drips between my breasts in the dream. The torrential rain simmers the forest, and steam rises from the ground. Finally, in the dream, in my dream, I turn off the highway, grinding my car up a steep gravel road that dead ends at the cabin. I jump out, forget to cut the engine, and halfway to the door, the car revs higher and higher as if the motor is inside me. I knock hard on the door, and it opens to Carlos, my first boyfriend, the one who provoked Mama to say ‘you could do better,’ the one who refused confession or absolution, the one who feasted on wild-ass-monkey sex, and the one who, in my dream, swings the door open, sweeps his arm beneath me, lifts me and carries me inside. Anne Anthony Anne Anthony’s gritty, tender, and amusing stories feature compelling but slightly flawed characters who tend to carry on conversations with each other inside her head. She stopped fighting them a few years back agreeing to tell their stories just to quiet them. Find recent publications here: https://linktr.ee/anchalastudio or check her social media: IG: @anchalastudio X: @DIHPocketsART FB: @anchalstudio ** Thereafter Secretly I think of my life as a street—not a busy freeway, but a dead end with a way in but no exit except to unwind itself backwards into a repetition of what I’ve already done. It stands inside the shadow of a spiral that lengthens in a tighter and tighter coil as the years wear on and out. Exhausted I conjure exotic locations, endless oceans of azure skies, a vessel sailing forever towards the horizon, following a magical but unfinished map. ink tells my story-- my familiars dream, chasing birds-- we fly together Kerfe Roig A resident of New York City, Kerfe Roig enjoys transforming words and images into something new. Follow her explorations on her blogs, https://methodtwomadness.wordpress.com/ (which she does with her friend Nina), and https://kblog.blog/. ** Pet Lover’s Dilemma I am my own canvas splashy and expressive life etched on each sleeve, my friends are monochromatic fur is fur they have no choice. Although dissimilar we are stitched together by emotion and survival, they rouse me from slumber desperate to pad outside for relief then return to fitful sleep… not me. What do they know of insomnia? Should I buy a doggie door? Is that a crack in the ceiling? Elaine Sorrentino Elaine Sorrentino has been published in Minerva Rising, Willawaw Journal, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Ekphrastic Review, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, Haiku Universe, Sparks of Calliope, Gyroscope Review, Quartet Journal, The Raven’s Perch, and Panoplyzine. She hosts the Duxbury Poetry Circle, was featured on a poetry podcast at Onyx Publications. Her first collection of poetry, called Belly Dancing in a Brown Sweatsuit is in production at Kelsay Books. ** Muddy Water Rescue Plan And then I was alone. The brown dog was his. The black one, mine, half dead after the hours in the attic. Me, on the bed in my neighbor’s trailer, Billie Eilish, through the earbuds I scooped up from the rising water. When the rain came, the dogs and I climbed to the top of my beautiful house, with stones shaped and chiseled to resemble castle walls, muddy water lapping at our feet, me shrieking into my dead phone, waiting for the rescue boat to arrive. Now in my girlfriend’s trailer, the mosaic of blankets, blue, pink, floral, stink of damp. A furious red rash creeps up my legs. My mouth crinkles from the dirty water infusion. My husband left the day before the storm, said I can’t take your nagging anymore. Maybe I was an ideal, something he dreamed up, something to fall short of. Maybe I should move back to San Diego where the sky, the sea, the eucalyptus shout colour. Maybe Chicago. At least there, the wind matches my mood. The black dog yaps in her sleep. My husband’s mutt gets up and nuzzles me. His breath is sour. Snuggling together on the sunshine pillow, I kiss him back. THE END Laura B. Weiss Laura B. Weiss is a fiction writer and journalist with work in Flash Boulevard, Bright Flash Literary Review, 10x10 Flash, Five on the Fifth, New York Times, and Interior Design, among others. She was a Publishers Weekly book reviewer and Bellevue Literary Review reader. She was also a Virginia Center for Creative Arts Fellow. ** Count Your Blessings If only life and love resembled the crumpled softness of a well-used bed. Praise the dogs that lie beside my body when no one wants me. I used to sleep better in white sheets until white became a shroud. Praise the black and white floral linen on sale at 50% off, One Day Only. At fifty-five, tattoos seemed a better option than another lover’s scar. Praise the men I said no to, who took it for an answer. This afternoon, I’ll wash the cup and plate and change the pillow slips. Praise the dog drool and the silent farts that make me laugh when all else fails. Linda McQuarrie-Bowerman Linda lives and writes poetry in Lake Tabourie, NSW, Australia, on traditional Yuin country and enjoys seeing her poetic work published in various literary spaces. ** After the Walk My body all flowers My quilt and pillows flowers Am I rehearsing for the grave No one will leave stones or flowers What do the dogs know About roots or death The strewn plate with its cups Their stoneware bodies askew Somewhere it is summer And wild cones rebloom The ophidian fabric beside me watches and waits Memory’s original snake returning As if then is now My body hums with a bouquet’s submission Beloved Wherever you are I know you listen Amy Small-McKinney Amy Small-McKinney was the 2011 Montgomery County PA Poet Laureate. Her second full-length book, Walking Toward Cranes, won the Kithara Book Prize (Glass Lyre Press, 2017). Her chapbook, One Day I Am A Field, was written during COVID and her husband’s death (Glass Lyre Press, 2022). Her poems have been published in the American Poetry Review, The Baltimore Review, SWWIM, Tahoma Literary Review, Tiferet Journal, Literary Mama, Pedestal Magazine, Persimmon Tree, and Vox Populi, among others. Her poems have also been translated into Korean and Romanian. Her third full-length book of poems & You Think It Ends is forthcoming 2025 (Glass Lyre Press). Small-McKinney has a degree in Clinical Neuropsychology from Drexel University and an MFA in Poetry. ** After the Walk, I collapsed in bed, my two other companions by my side, and couldn’t sleep. How could I? Mourning, rest escaped me. Not the dogs though. They conked out as if shot. Red, as usual, gave me not a jot of space, and pushed his lean body next to mine as if he was an appendage. Never a burden, always a patient joy, Smudge slept with her parts splayed, tart that she is. I lay on my back contemplating the spots of peeled plaster wishing I had the youth and spirit to rip off the wallpaper and paint the room in spumoni colors—lemon yellow, blushing pink rose with a ribbon of jade between the molding and the white ceiling. Suddenly, I spied little tears in the wallpaper bordering the window she’d ripped with her mittens. I hadn’t noticed the evidence of her before. Damn to renovations. I’ll keep the tears in her memory. Tomorrow we’ll walk to the unmown meadow and spread her feathery ashes amongst the yellowing grasses and jumping, green bugs. Lucinda Kempe Lucinda Kempe’s work has been published or is forthcoming in New Flash Fiction Review, Centaur, The Disappointed Housewife, Unbroken Journal, New South Journal, Southampton Review, and the Summerset Review. An excerpt of her memoir was short listed for the Fish Memoir Prize in April 2021. Nominated for Best of the Net in 2024 by Boudin Magazine (The McNeese Review). ** A Good Bad Gone A mishmash puzzle, us, a room that glints with mismatched chintz (he never liked it). You walk so you forget, but when the chazza shop is beckoning, you reckon that it’s worthwhile going in, you can’t resist. So armed with unexpected plates, you take the left, you let the dogs off, wander, think he would have rolled his eyes at this new purchase: do we need another plate? And you lost patience, wouldn’t say again how chestnut mugs and cheery sheets remind you of your mum and how she squeezed you tight in bed, the telly blaring blurry comfort and another long-ago dog, gone now, dozing on the proggy mat, his legs a-twitch with dreams. The cocker stretches, tiny scratch reminder that you’re flesh and blood and time is marching on and no-one else will make the pot of tea this evening. Caitlin Prouatt Caitlin is a Brisbane-born, Oxford-based Latin and Greek teacher. When not tutoring or looking after her toddler, Caitlin writes poetry, with a particular interest in how rhythm can contribute to an image. Much of her poetry centres on her experiences of being a parent, but she also often returns to Classical themes. She enjoys having a go at the Ekphrastic Challenge to hone her craft. ** Dignity I got my dignity. Ain’t nobody can take that away. Ha! Some try their darnedest though. Flipping burgers at the Clover Grill don’t seem dignified. True, the place has its charm. Red-topped diner stools, tile floor, pink menus. Has history too. Been here on Bourbon Street since 1939. Open 24/7. You gotta dig deep to find dignity there. Jesus said feed the hungry. I do that. That’s enough. I just finished the night shift. Took Huey and Louie for their walk. Time to crash on this heap of a bed. Too worn out to bother with the dress. Yanked off my bra though, and slung it on the bedpost. These New Orleans summers are too much. Wish I had a cigarette. Next paycheck I’ll get a carton. For now just putting my fingers to my lips sorta helps. I wish I had art for these walls. I wear my art on my arm. And I pull it up around me. You can tell I’m partial to prints. Ha! Who cares if the colors coordinate. I get ‘em cheap at St. Vincent de Paul. Time to sleep now if I can make these eyes close. Wouldn’t mind a man next to me. But I learned that lesson. I got my dogs. And I got my dignity. That’s enough. Bill Richard Bill Richard is a docent at the Phoenix Art Museum and has loved art since he sat on his dad’s lap as a toddler and looked at books of paintings. He is also a standardized patient for medical schools, helping prepare healthcare professionals by giving them feedback on their communication skills. His poems have appeared in publications such as Red River Review, Ilya’s Honey, and National Catholic Reporter. ** To Lyn Aylward Regarding After the Walk The walk, far more than exercise, was meant to fill discerning eyes with things familiar much the same and of the moment new to frame with those to prize and those to rue and those that fervent hopes pursue together trek that underway from dawn to dark of years by day, is aging, energetic still, the sturdiness of stubborn will as ceiling lowers heaven's sky for inward glance of upward eye that senses in artistic soul collage of patterns to extol. Portly Bard Prefers to craft with sole intent... of verse becoming complement... ...and by such homage being lent... ideally also compliment. Ekphrastic joy comes not from praise for words but from returning gaze far more aware of fortune art becomes to eyes that fathom heart. ** Interior Design My mother always wore a sleeveless nightgown, always slept on the right side of the bed, even after my father died. She always wrapped toilet paper around her lacquered coiffure, secured the tissue with hair clips. She always separated silverware in the sink, organized knives, forks, and spoons in the dishwater. She ate at the same time every day, often eating the same meal: Oatmeal for breakfast, tuna salad on white toast for lunch, broiled chicken for dinner. She rationed two Stella D’oro cookies every evening as she relaxed In front of the television. She wore silver with silver, gold with gold, never mixed metals. Obsessive compulsive? Some family members insist she was OCD. But me? No. She just wanted order, managing expectations birthed during the Great Depression and war. She wanted to wrap an imperial blue world of her own making around her, curl up in a blue-and-white comforter that matched the drapes, carpeting, curtains inside the armoire, the velvet tufted bench at the foot of the bed. Barbara Krasner Barbara Krasner holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is pursuing a World Art History Certificate from Smithsonian Associates as she works on a full-length ekphrastic poetry collection. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Ekphrastic Review, Nimrod, Cimarron Review, ONE ART, and elsewhere. She lives and teaches in New Jersey and can be found at www.barbarakrasner.com. ** Curb Your Enthusiasm Too many cushions, too many covers – countless curves – that bed is a puddle with many a squashy bubble luring the woman to end her walk and letting herself to the tuffs talk. The one sharp line is laid pointedly sublime – blob and dog having shoved the pliancy of dress and flesh left her body edge stretch forthright like a tugging kite. Otherwise, here at the flat upper part should have been a double oval plot with perpetually swaying nod; and at the lower plumb fringe should have been an oblique weave ambushing every limb’s groove. Instead, it is geometrically projecting annunciating: I am mindful just of spiky adjectives I take no curly compliments I am Aphrodite of cutting-edge musings I am here to draw the bottom line of the internal cloud nine. Unlikely, it is taut and sharp like a string of a harp with no twists to breed false tones after my geometric clearance for the earnest hand I see extending out of the blue to begin a tune of incredible cue. So, curb your enthusiasm for curves and take my sharpness as the flatted-fifth harness. Ekaterina Dukas Ekaterina Dukas writes poetry as a pilgrimage to the meaning. Her poems have often been honored by TER and its Challenges. Her poetry collection Ekphrasticon is published by Europe Edizioni. ** Filling Spaces Dog breath fogs the window in the cramp of your bedroom, your lover gone, but at your bidding, dismissed the day before your fifth anniversary, a preemptive move, knowing he’d forget, never mind the cloying scent of a perfume you’ve never used that you sniffed on his jacket. Two still-plumped pillows head what used to be his side of the bed. Pottery he made, as yet unsmashed, lies in a box at the foot. Everything here abhors a vacuum. Black dog, upside-down, his wanting belly exposed, fills one gap. His dreams ride the refuge of the space your lover vacated, as he nestles into the billow of the duvet. Brown dog’s spine rides the left longitude of you, warms the length of your leg. The dogs flanking your sides arrived courtesy of your lover’s need to rescue, discovered in a burlap sack three years ago and brought home to salvage what was lost. Now, a larger loss looms over the room. You’d thought you were glad to see the back of him, but now wonder whether you did the right thing. You stare at the dusty sunbeam spilling through the window and a whoosh of air pushes from your lungs. You lose your eyes, start the hard work of erasing, of replacing. Mikki Aronoff Mikki Aronoff’s work has been nominated for Pushcart, Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, Best American Short Stories, and Best Microfiction, with stories appearing in Best Microfiction 2024 and forthcoming in Best Small Fictions 2024. She lives in New Mexico. ** Grief Has More Than One Pattern Daydreams take up most of her time – dreams of what it must be like to be a dog, to have a life where someone else takes care of the dirty dishes, the disheveled bed, the comings and goings of daily doings, even where the next tattoo will go. If only some benevolent being (someone who loves her as much as her dogs do) would take charge and let her focus on clouds and colors, walks in the park and midnight jazz. He used to do that for her. He loved her as much as she loves her dogs. Maril Crabtree Maril Crabtree’s book, Fireflies in the Gathering Dark (Kelsay Books), received a 2018 Kansas Notable Books award. Her latest book is Journey. Her poems, essays, and short stories have appeared in numerous journals including Coal City Review, I-70 Review, Literary Mama, Main Street Rag, Persimmon Tree, Poet’s Market and Third Wednesday. She believes that a poem’s apothecary of words, of sounds spoken and absorbed, can be a healing force in our culture. Her online work can be seen at www.marilcrabtree.com ** After the walk the shutters closed upon return sprawled out in bed hot wind outside the sun fierce on our skin fierce on our road we’re done now I’m done a space for time a room for lying about on this layer of earth Stien Pijp Stien Pijp lives in the Dutch country side. She enjoys thinking, poetry and clay. She is a linguist who works in the field of aphasia and care. A dreamy person who likes to hang around and walk her dog. ** At Noon I let the sun eat me and my captive Halloween ghosts itching to ignite. I let love go- bald like the eucalyptus grove by the path I climb, like the silver oaks that rise beyond hope. As in a note that I find at free bird house library on the road I walk at noon, Write a line and pass it on- I let the sun eat my youth and colors gone cold. At end I lie free of my weight, sprawled, browned as the eucalyptus bark tattooed with time. Fearless of fall. Abha Das Sarma An engineer and management consultant by profession, Abha Das Sarma enjoys writing. Besides having a blog of over 200 poems (http://dassarmafamily.blogspot.com), her poems have appeared in Muddy River Poetry Review, Spillwords, Verse-Virtual, Visual Verse, Sparks of Calliope, Trouvaille Review, Silver Birch Press, Blue Heron Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, here and elsewhere. Having spent her growing up years in small towns of northern India, she currently lives in Bengaluru. ** Sunrise Aches of Evening Years oh, but I’ll be up again, darlings-- blame these old bones, rigid and stubborn as your love for walks when air is cool and sun tepid; your dawn in my evening years rejuvenate as much as it bears down with all its energetic leaps; alas, my cartilages, my muscles, my nerves require horizontal walks of complete stillness for a little while—maybe a few more whiles; come, lie next to me; accompany me through this internal adventure—I hear you, my darlings, but all I need is a little while, plus a few extra whiles, and I’ll be up again! Manisha Sahoo Manisha Sahoo (she/her), from Odisha, India, has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and a Master’s in English. Her words have appeared/are set to appear in Inked in Gray, Borders not Bridges, Apparition Lit, Sylvia Magazine, Atticus Review, Amity, Noctivagant Press, and others. You can find her on Twitter and on Instagram @LeeSplash. ** I Search for the God of the Afternoon Doze of two dogs lying down with me of the smell of trees on their coats of the ice cream pink and blue swirl of quilts surrounding us of the pattern of light that will fade of a green dress hiked to my thigh of dreams and intricate tattoos of my right hand fallen like a fat leaf by my chin of pillows tossed to the floor of eyes that will close in a moment of dirty plates by the bed I think of then forget Catherine Anderson Catherine Anderson is the author of four full-length collections of poetry, and a recent memoir, My Brother Speaks in Dreams: Of Family, Beauty & Belonging, about growing up with her brother Charlie who had autism and was institutionalized for a time. For decades she has worked with new immigrants and refugees in the field of interpretation/translation. In her free moments, she likes to draw owls. ** Lady Dogs It's the happiest she’s been in a decade, here on the bed with Beck and Sue. He'd be horrified to see it: the bed in disarray, dogs on the duvet in animal abandon. What about the shed hairs, he’d say, my allergies, the mess that lady dogs make. She hated the term ‘lady dogs’: as if insults are improved by euphemisms. They’d had a long, gorgeous walk across the common. Beck and Sue were everywhere, scampering like crazed things: she’d never known dogs dig so many holes! But both came to heel when she called, as if they’d been acquainted for years. They hadn’t - she fetched them from Rescue Dogs that morning. But look how they adjusted to their new home, stretched-out on her bed like they’d lounged there forever! Brown haired Beck at her left, snoozing on the swirled sheets; black haired Sue playing possum, a twitch in her hind-leg the only sign of life in her weary state. When they ran to the bedroom she hadn’t even stopped to wipe their paws: she didn’t need to care anymore. She felt at peace with these dogs. She’d missed the creature-warmth of a loving presence, so lacking in her life through her years with that man: his skin like refrigerated lard; his chill, bony limbs poking holes in her patience, her will to live. She knew things would change with Beck and Sue, felt instantly connected when she collected them this morning: sweet-natured Beck’s gentle eyes, Sue’s lean snout that she likes to nuzzle with. He feared being nuzzled by dogs: shunned the wet nose that Sue forced upon him, nuzzling his face to get attention. She guessed how he’d react, claiming dogs made his asthma rage; but he was easily upset, that man. Everything annoyed him, her most of all. He didn’t like the sandy shade she dyed her hair, the way she wore her dresses short, the beautiful tattoos she’d been adding to for years, just to spite him. But dogs were the final straw: he’d fumed when she bought them home, flew into a man-rant. Asthma, asthma, asthma! He only ever thought about himself, that man. It occurs to her now that their walk across the common will be a twice-a-day routine: Beck and Sue need exercise, but now her garden’s out-of-bounds. She’d never known dogs dig so many holes: who knows what these lady dogs might find beneath the freshly-turned earth. Paul McDonald Paul McDonald taught American literature at the University of Wolverhampton for 25 years, before taking early retirement in 2019. He is the author of 20 books to date, which includes fiction, poetry and scholarship. His most recent poetry collection is 60 Poems (Greenwich Exchange Press, 2023) ** Where the Red Hair Grows “Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.” - Emily Dickinson the silence crackled and began to dance. the heat stuck to light. my two beautiful dogs. one large with long paws, movie glam, and glistened with gold. the other smaller made with silver trim, and sparkled like a star. there was a story that went back a half century. my mind drifted through the years. my wonderful memories unfolded. Michelle Hoover With thanks to Wilson Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows, Ch. 1. Michelle “Line/breaker of the North” Hoover is an amateur poet and professional wiseacre. She lives near a mountain on unceded Ute territory with her onery feline, Stevie, the Magnificent Marshmallow. She enjoys her toes in the grass, a hardy laugh, and a backstroke under a starry sky. Her work can be found in The Ekphrastic Review; enjoy! ** Afternoon Siesta Cynthia is in deep meditation as she reclines on her wrought iron bed covered in colourful floral quilts, content with her hand on her brown lab’s neck as a stiff breeze ruffles lace curtains above the pillows. Her leafy tattoos prove her bond to nature while Cynthia’s dyed red hair and facial wrinkles remain evidence of maturity. This afternoon she is resting from a two-hour hike along the marsh, where she paused to observe a snowy egret, motionless fifty feet away with her two dogs, Zeus and Bandit. At this moment her fingers are poised on her lips-- some dark secret never to be shared. Jim Brosnan A Pushcart nominee, Dr. Jim Brosnan is the author of Long Distance Driving (2024) and Nameless Roads (2019) copies are available [email protected]. His poems have appeared in the Aurorean (US), Crossways Literary Magazine (Ireland), Eunoia Review (Singapore), Nine Muses (Wales), Scarlet Leaf Review(Canada), Strand (India), The Madrigal (Ireland), The Wild Word (Germany), and Voices of the Poppies (United Kingdom). He holds the rank of full professor at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. ** King’s Walks 24 days ago, I noticed how slow King walked. His progress was usually lagging a little due to his massive bulk, but he kept falling far enough behind I had to wait for him to catch up. He was just getting on a bit, 13 now. Our afternoon walks out in the woods were the highlight of his day (if you don’t count dinner), so we still ventured out, morning and afternoon, no matter what the weather. 15 days ago, I woke up to a revolting smell. The morning light was barely slipping through the blinds in the shades. The other dogs had evacuated the bedroom, leaving King slumped on the floor surrounded by foul piles and mounds. I could see his body heaving with effort. I got out of bed and put my hand on his head; he struggled to his feet, and we walked to the truck to go to the vet’s. 13 days ago, the phone screeched out during the early morning. It scared me for a few reasons. It was the vet’s office calling to report their findings. King had cancer. And it was too late, and he was too old. No other details they shared mattered. I don’t even remember what kind they said he had. I rounded up the crew and headed into the woods while the sun was still out to warm us. 4 days ago, while I was washing dishes, I heard a crash from the hallway. I dropped the plate and was already in the doorway when the crack echoed out. King was splayed on the floor. He was fighting to get to his paws, but his legs convulsed so horrifically, it was impossible for him to get up. I crouched and pulled him to me. The convulsions stopped as darkness crept down the hallway while we were lying there. That day, nothing was done, no walks were taken. This morning, King didn’t go near his breakfast. I let the bowl out all morning. I shooed the others when they came sniffing around. That was King’s food, though he hadn’t eaten in a few days. He watched me do chores from his deflated cushion. When I took a break for a cigarette and coffee he struggled to his paws and settled his large head on my lap and cried. I understood, and I cried with him. After the walk, I got in the shower to scrub the dirt from my skin and the guilt from my heart. But it was no use, the remorse crawled into bed with me. The remaining members of my small pack joined, and I am grateful for their warm bodies, soft fur, and the unrelenting love only dogs are capable of. The first walk we took after I brought him home, King was a holy terror. He ran from me the moment I unclasped the leash. He frolicked in the mud, got stuck in the woods’ overgrowth. He attempted a small howl, but just frightened himself. I wriggled in after him and ended up with a tick. He relentlessly chased squirrels until he finally caught one, and I had to coax him with multiple treats to let the poor thing go. I remember thinking that he was hustling me. My energy was spent by the time we got back, but he bounced around like he had just woken from a full night’s sleep. When I finally scrubbed the dirt from his fur, he curled around me in front of the tv for the night. And that was how we spent almost every day. Tomorrow, I’ll call the tattoo parlor for an appointment to get a crown added to my right arm. Samantha Gorman Samantha Gorman, a lifelong lover of books, lives in Western Pennsylvania. After taking several creative writing classes, she found her voice and had begun the adventure of becoming a writer. She writes poetry, short fiction, and is working on her first novel. ** Always Three She absently rubs my neck. The woman whose name I’ve never known. I’ve been with her enough days to know she sees no one but me and Polly. Polly is what the other dog is called. She calls me Susan. She’s not been around other people so I don’t know what she is called. Many days she will lay in bed until noon, just the three of us while she stares out the window. After a long time, she will get up and give us little biscuits and a saucer of tea. Her tea is in a big cup. She will put big white shirts over her clothes and spread colours on paper. She gives them to the mailman every couple of days and he brings her money. She lives in color. She lives for color. After the day is over, she’ll sit on her little balcony alone and eat dinner, then all of us will sit together and listen to music while she reads or knits or just sits. Sometimes we’ll dance, sometimes we’ll cry. Whatever we do, it’s just the three of us. Always. Anna Svatora Anna Svatora is a high schooler in central Ohio. She has participated in a few state writing competitions and hopes to become a full-time author one day. ** Thinking Thinking, thinking, thinking. All day she spent thinking. She lay in bed just thinking of her life, thinking of her lost love, regrets, sorrows, and joys. All day, all week she spent thinking, thinking of memories of when she was young, memories of her husband she misses so dearly. She lies in bed with her dogs lost in her thoughts of all her memories she has of life, good and bad. She enjoys the time she spent thinking of those memories. She smiles slightly, “a well lived life” she thought. Abbi Dose ** My Two Dogs I lie in bed contemplating everything that a person could contemplate on a Monday morning, allowing the sun’s rays to enter my cornea and make it impossible to sleep. I looked to my left and right and my black Pocket Beagle named Rosie and my brown Labrador dog named Teddy were still snoozing even though the sun’s rays had filled the entire room, it still had not woken them or stirred them in the slightest out of their slumber. Even though both dogs were different sizes and different breeds they still manage to get along no matter what. I thought about the world and wondered about how people were unable to get along like how dogs were able to, it just doesn’t make any sense since humans are smarter than dogs and we are unable to get along. I sigh, knowing that we humans have a long way to go until we get along and so I pray to God and then get up and walk to the kitchen to prepare my dog’s food. I grab by dog’s food and walk to their bowl and pour it in and now I hear the running of paws to my location and I see my Teddy running to the food bowl but not eating it right away instead he waits for Rosie who comes running in a little bit after him and so they both start eating from the food bowl not growling at each other just eating and enjoying each others company. Samuel Verhoff ** You see, poems are not exactly my specialty. so ill do the bio. As a wee little lad, I loved to eat dirt. You see I wasn't the brightest person in that metaphorical box. But I had something even greater, since I had the IQ of a dead pigeon, I knew that I could easily eat dirt. but since I knew that dirt wasn't normally easy to eat. I thought I could try multiple things that might change the way it works. I tried soaking it in water and even trying to take it grain by grain. I realize how dumb this was about a month later, and even now I still think about it once a week. but I just felt determined by this pointless act, that would not benefit me but actually make my hours worse because of the stomach pain. After I tried multiple different ways and after I had basically given up. I had a spark of ideas, one I thought would for sure work. "if I could just put it through a strainer" I thought to myself. now I didn't own one, and to my surprise, there wasn't one in my shed either. But then I remembered the meat mallet my father used to almost crush a squirrel that got stuck in our humble home. I used it with water and a bag. I put the bag under the meat mallet and turned the mallet to the side, I used clean water and pressed the dirt against the mallet while the water flowed. turns out that's not how straining works. so I tried to, and part of my brain felt so accomplished it made the dirt not taste half bad. I haven't eaten dirt since but if something like this happens again. I'll be sure to try whatever it takes to get my dumb goal accomplished Cole Stefanovski ** The Encounter The bed is strewn with fatigue, pillows tossed about, Labradors panting on each side of he mattress and myself resting from our early walk. Before dawn, we hiked through the woods. long and slow winding through a place where everything dissolved into silhouette and the shining stillness that lingers after an Autumn rain. The moon had cast her presence on the water, a woman gowned in white - drifting on a current headed down stream where the stone depot remains with ivy sprawling over its walls; and memories have seen the sorrow of too many departures. The dogs whimpered, sensing a ghost; and I felt the shadow of a story trail behind. Someone harbored by the huddle of trees, soft-fallen of foot and voice, said to go home, fall asleep and the rest would be revealed in a dream. So here I lie fading into slumber, wondering what spirit called my name, begging me to learn of her legend. The dogs lie corpse-still, their breathing now easy, hardly heard but they know about the moon and how she parts that curtain of mist hours before most souls revisit their past. And I think the dead must breathe as they shimmer in the dark or half light, inhaling our scent knowing which ones to pursue and possess. The sky lightens with a train passing on tracks that follow the river. And I hear travelers discussing in one of the carriage cars how a lady drowned, submerging herself in the cold darkness of midnight. Her birthday just moments away; and her lover gone to the glamour of gambling A grand casino in Monte Carlo they say. La Salle des Americains known for its rich tapestries and tables spinning his life into nothing but the luck of numbers. Tomorrow I turn thirty, my husband still in Paris but his letter sits on the chair, a few inches from my hand, waiting to be read again and I realize there are no trains that go through this town, only a woman wanting to press his words against her heart, waiting to awaken from my dream. A stranger to the dogs but not this house which she owned lit by gas lamps and gloamed by the green dusk of willows -- more than a hundred years before. Wendy A. Howe Wendy Howe is an English teacher and free lance writer who lives in Southern California. Her poetry reflects her interest in myth, diverse landscapes, women in conflict and ancient cultures. Over the years, she has been published in an assortment of journals both on-line and in print. Among them: Strange Horizons, Liminality, Coffin Bell, Eternal Haunted Summer , The Poetry Salzburg Review, The Interpreter's House, Silver Blade Magazine, The Orchards Journal, Indelible magazine and Eye To The Telescope. Her latest work will be forthcoming in The Acropolis Journal later this year. ** Sacrament with Dogs and Tattoo Sleeve The dogs dream of running toward her right beside her the way the soul speedwalks stock still toward the body when the body’s hungers have all been checked off like items on a to-do list. I love the good bad things: the bright red heels that crush my toes like ice in an overpriced drink; scarfing stale kid’s cereal straight from the box; an afternoon in bed letting the bright unproductive light poke holes in my sorrow like the ones I’ll later stab into the film of a microwave meal. Douse me in doubt, drench me in deep lavish unknowing, like a bird bathing herself in a highway puddle. My God is a girl holding a mirror between her legs or a convenience store bathroom—perfect for when perfect doesn’t matter so much as relief. Maybe God isn’t good but where love goes to get her nails done so she doesn’t have to hold anything for a while. There are days I think I’ll layer my floors in filthy laundry if it means I don’t have to walk anywhere I haven’t already been. I want to let my dogs out and then watch them rub their street-slick snouts on my sheets. Like a low-cut dress, life won’t ask you to bend over but is what is revealed when you do. Lexi Pelle Lexi Pelle was the winner of the 2022 Jack McCarthy Book prize. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Rattle, Ninth Letter, Plume, SWWIM and The Shore. She is the author of the poetry collection Let Go With The Lights On (Write Bloody Publishing, 2023). ** Allison Wright lay in bed as the early morning sunlight filled her room through the open window. The cool springtime air caused her curtains to rise up and fall back down slowly. It was a beautiful day, but she could not be more nervous. Today was the day. Race day. Not just any kind of race though, Allison competed in dog racing. She stroked her golden retriever, Holly, absentmindedly as she stared up at the red walls and ceiling of her room. Her other arm rested against her other dog Skye, who was lying on her back, all four fluffy legs in the air. She believed that she was a Beagador, half beagle, half labrador, with fluffy black fur, with white patches of white on her chest and toes. Holly rose gently up and down as she slept, but Skye’s tail continued to wack Allison’s arm as she grinned mischievously up at her owner over her furry stomach. Skye was full of energy, while Holly was very calm, except when people came over. The two of them obviously were not racing dogs, but they still came to the races to watch their older brother Bandit, her greyhound, compete. When she had competed in track and cross country in her high school years, Bandit had run with her when he was a little puppy when she was practicing, and she had realized how fast and talented he was. They started small, competing in the annual town race, which was easily won. After that they took on the state, and now she was twenty-one and the two of them were about to compete in the country wide race. She glanced over at her clock; it was 7:39. Better get going she thought, and she climbed out of bed, causing Holly to wake up and stare at her with sleepy eyes. Skye, on the other hand, rolled over, falling off the side of the bed, and bounded up to Allison, jumping up and down excitedly. She changed out of her green nightgown into a dark gray t-shirt with a picture of Hawaii, which she hoped to visit someday, and pulled on a pair of jeans. She never wore makeup, which her older sister, Kaylee, never understood, so she did not waste any time on that. She then pulled her copper colored hair up into a messy bun, brushed Holly and Skye’s fur until they were both silky and shiny, and went downstairs for some breakfast. She glanced at the clock in the kitchen as she prepared the dog’s food first. It was around 7:50, she would need to leave at 8:15. About an hour later they were pulling up to her parents house. As she began to open up the car door, Skye pushed her way through it, and Allison had to quickly grab her leash, Skye especially hated car rides. Holly and Bandit followed. She was about to reach the doorstep when the door opened and her two little nieces, Bridget and Madeline, ran out to greet her. “Hi Aunt Alli!” they squealed happily before dropping down to pet the dogs instantly. Allison laughed, and looked up to see Kaylee and her husband Derrick in the doorway, smiling at her. “Hey little sis,” Kaylee walked down and gave her a hug. Derrick followed, greeting Allison with an embrace as well, and offered to take the leashes. She thanked him, and handed Holly and Skye over to him, but kept Bandit, who stayed close to her. She walked towards the house and found two boys standing in the door this time. One was her nephew, Cason, and the other was her younger brother, Noah. She was just barely finished saying hello to them when she was suddenly becoming squished from all over as her mother and father joined the group hug. Once everyone had finished their greetings, they started heading out to lunch; the dogs stayed home, of course. There they met up with her grandparents, a few aunts, uncles, cousins, and some friends. They all caught up with one another and talked excitedly about the race. A few hours later, Allison was on the road again, pulling into the racetrack’s parking lot. Only Bandit was with her this time; the other two dogs were riding with the family. She walked him over to the track. He sniffed excitedly at the ground, his tail wagging enthusiastically. Bandit loved to race, just like Allison. She smiled down at him. Even after all these years he still reminded her of that little puppy bounding down the high school’s track next to her. They went inside the building where the racers gathered, preparing their dogs for the contest, for victory. Allison stroked Bandit, while he nuzzled his face into her lap. After a while she glanced at her watch. It was almost 6:00. She could already hear the crowd. The announcer started to call the dogs and their owners out to the track. The race was about to begin. Becca Bates Becca Bates is a freshman at Granville Christian Academy. She plays volleyball for her school's team, and has written and published a book with two of her friends, Earth Defenders: Alien Attack. ** This Life Daddy said go on and live your life, Don’t get old with regrets like your mama and I, Take one step forward until you feel what’s right, You won’t always have time on your side. Daddy says he feels seventeen inside, Yet the glass shows an old man with his eyes, He knows that life has somehow passed him by, With no turning back, no matter how hard he tries. Sometimes I feel like I want to stay in bed, Pull the covers up high right over my head, Pretend the world’s heard all that needs to be said, That my scars will stop bleeding because they’ve already bled. Then I hear daddy’s voice in my mind, Saying honey remember there’s no thing as rewind, Put one step forward, you will be just fine, Your two steps back were just a moment in time. My feet hit the floor from guilt or drive, I push myself forward and start the climb, Perhaps his sadness isn’t just for what he left behind, But for fear that his life could be repeated as mine. Corrie Pappas Corrie Pappas is a small business owner living outside Boston. Her work has appeared in The Ekphrastic Review and she is the author of the children’s book, Come Along and Dream. ** A Question She lies awake, burrowed into a bloom of quilts, a flurry of pink and turquoise, yellow and indigo. Her mind races like her Golden Boy on the wooded path. He’s dozing now, warm against her left flank, the spot he favours. Blacky lies on her right, legs splayed, belly exposed and vulnerable. They smell of leaves and earth. She watches the shadow of the old oak shape shift across the ceiling as the day winds down. She strokes her lips, ponders her husband’s return, whether there’s room for him. Susan Carman ** JOIN KATE COPELAND FOR AN EKPHRASTIC BREAKFAST ON PAINTED PETS! Plus, Lorette on Writing Ghost Stories this weekend, and more. Our workshops are about connection, creativity, and community. Write, learn about art, and connect with the worldwide ekphrastic community! Painted Pets
CA$35.00
On Zoom. $35CAD/25USD. Sunday November 10 2024. 10 to 12 est Join us for an ekphrastic Sunday brunch! Bring coffee, tea, and breakfast if you wish and join editors Lorette and Kate Copeland online for a romp with Fido and Felix. Lorette will show some fascinating paintings featuring cats, dogs, and other pets. And Kate, a linguist who is also a professional petsitter, will talk about the language of our animal companions and how we form relationships with them. She will have some writing exercises to inspire us on the theme. Writing Ghost Stories
CA$35.00
A generative session on Zoom for ghost story ideas. We'll look at some ghostly and ghastly paintings from art history to get inspired. You will consider what it means to be haunted, brainstorm possibilities for horrifying poems and stories that go bump in the night, and generate some drafts. You can write poetry or short fiction. Sunday October 20, 2024 2 to 4 pm eastern standard time $35Canadian dollars is approximately $25USD The Madonna in Art: a Discovery Workshop
CA$35.00
Join us on Tuesday, December 1o from 2 to 4 pm eastern standard time, for a discovery workshop on the Madonna in art history. We will look at the history of the Virgin Mary in visual art around the world, and learn the secrets of the symbols that accompany her, the meanings of different renderings and styles, and much more. The first half of this workshop will be a tour of visual images and discussion of the art and artists. In the second half, we will use some of the imagery to inspire contemplation and creativity, with prompts for poems or short fiction.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Challenges
|