He Was Henry Hudson – Contest Winner
by Linda Chase
He was Henry Hudson, navigating the mighty river, heading north. He loved this river. His river. The sheer power of it, the expanse. The night was coal black. A thick darkness cloaked the bank...
At the Assisted Living Facility – Contest Finalist
by Michael Harty
They straggle across two rows
of handicapped spaces, tugging their young
toward the wide pneumatic doors,
adjusting their faces. Smile, Trevor,
Grandpa wants to see you smile.
They ...
Film Noir – Contest Finalist
by Laura Foley
Film Noir
In Paris with my professor,
and his shy teenage son,
not much younger than I,
whose presence I try
to fence from my awareness.
Our apartment’s an atelier,
our courtyard shad...
Here’s the dream: Contest Finalist
by Monica Wendel
Here’s the dream:
that I’ve made the right choice. That everyone forgives me for everything.
That we can sleep at night. That the dog I’m dog sitting never barks or snaps at me but ins...
Swimming Lessons – Contest Winner
by Beverly Magovern Lyon
Would it have made a difference if I had arrived in a later season,
say, spring 1945 or fall of ‘53?
Would my mother have learned to float by then, confident and tan?
Suppose my...
The Wishing Stone – Contest Finalist
by Cecily Markham
I walk into the room to check on her, to see if the pain medication helped. I am a young nurse. My patient is lying in the bed by the window. The room is honey-like from the sun pouring in....
The Night Room
by Larry Pike
I have been in this room before,
one like it, one of a thousand, a million—
past the gift shop, the snack bar, x-ray, PT,
round and around the maze of wings,
2 East, 3 West, halfway down a ...
My EKG
by Larry Pike
Of course it’s precautionary, probably
will be discontinued once the echo
results are back, but being handed
the nitro scrip jolts the pulse,
stimulates sharp, darting pains,
which would s...
Pain Birds VII
by Ashley Warren
Sun-browned skin, bottle sweating freedom beads,
colors
colors
laughing birds. Got the news—“she has Parkinson’s…” Ask a travelling doctor, “what’s worse—that or Alzheimer’s?”
THAT, etc....
Jefferson’s Children
by Maureen Hirthler
“If you don’t do something right now, I’m going to hurt my children.” Standing at the window of the police station, this is what you say. The policewoman comes out to get you, hand restin...