Category: Poetry

Wrong Questions

Adriana Morgan

People ask me about the color of my hair, but they don’t care­—why would they? — about the color of my thoughts. People ignore the pink-copper hues of my ideas— gondolas gliding through my brain; they don’t see their turquoise blue shades— paper boats caught in a vortex. People ask Read more

Adriana Morgan

Adriana Morgan completed a Ph.D. in French Literature at the University of Letters in Nantes, France. She is fluent in six languages and worked as a translator and terminologist at the European Commission in Luxembourg and the United Nations in New York. She taught French at the University of Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, India, the French Alliance and the Universities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, Chile. She currently works as a multi-dimensional artist: painter, poet, and children's picture books writer and illustrator. She's been born in Bucharest, Romania, currently living in nice, France. Adriana is the first prize winner of the Midnight Mozaic Fiction (Medium, 2019), one of the selected winners of the Canadian poetry contest—Quebec and the Francophony, and second prize winner of the Daniil Pashkoff International Poetry Contest, 2018, Germany. Adriana Morgan's artworks and literary works have been published or are forthcoming in 'Beyond Words Literary Magazine', 'Infinity Room,' 'Spillwords', and 'Ullalume Lighthouse' among others.

A Branch Removed

Amber R. Dulaney

Of our family tree you are a branch life’s cruel disposition removed from us when I was young; memories of you faded as years lapsed by the way a tree forgets leaves it shed over the years. Leaving me with stories my mother tells about the love you had for Read more

Amber R. Dulaney

Amber R. Dulaney is a stay at home Mom residing in Ohio with her husband. She aims for her writing to be relatable, aid in people knowing they are not alone, and in some way, helps them heal. In November of 2008, she received a diploma from The Institute of Children's Literature.

Open D

Doug Hoekstra

Long auburn hair Fingers picking, backhand Bottleneck thrashing Closer to the microphone Swaying to and fro Like a cat Or a snake Or a dream I could forsake But never forget As the blues played on In the way they never had The blues played on And of course, they Read more

Doug Hoekstra

Doug Hoekstra is a Chicago-bred, Nashville-based writer and musician, educated at DePaul University in the Windy City (B.A.) and Belmont University in the Music City (M.Ed.), whose prose, poetry, and non-fiction have appeared in numerous print and online literary journals. His first set of stories, Bothering the Coffee Drinkers, was published in April 2006 and earned an Independent Publisher Award (IPPY) for Best Short Fiction (Bronze Medal). Ten Seconds In-Between, his latest collection of short stories, was published in June, 2021 on Better than Starbuckspress. Hoekstra has also worked extensively as a singer-songwriter with eight albums of original material on labels released on both sides of the pond, propelling touring throughout the U.S. and Europe, at bookstores, coffeehouses, clubs, libraries, pubs, festivals, radio stations, and castles; solo and with combos in tow. Musical highlights have included Nashville Music Award and Independent Music Award nominations, as well as many groovy happenings. 2021 also brings a new album of music, The Day Deserved. ("A lot of people write songs, Hoekstra writes five minute worlds" - Wired Magazine).

Not Magic

Krystal Beatriz Galvis

She is a hurricane, Not a woman from the sea. She is the opposite of a mermaid. She is not magic; she is a disaster. Her hair does not flow with the wind as she comes out of the water with seashells in her hands. That is a mermaid and Read more

Krystal Beatriz Galvis

Krystal Beatriz Galvis, born and raised in San Diego, California, is a writer fascinated with magic, fantasy, and darkness. She is a MFA graduate student at San Diego State University studying creative writing. Outside from writing short stories, she researches any Latinx fables or myths and writes small poems on her Instagram page under the hashtag #krystalg.

Ode to the Girl with the Mermaid Hair

Sophie Winik

That girl, She was young, caring, kind, but naive. She was shy, hair as long as a mermaid, eyes filled with hope for the future. She was fifteen, beginning the process of figuring herself out, the person she wants to be. He was one year older, Dirty-blonde hair, blue eyes, Read more

Sophie Winik

I was a writer for I Am That Girl, a place that helps empower young girls. A place that was so safe I knew I could write about personal things and feel safe in doing so. Not only that but a place where my words would make a difference. And that is something I continue to be passionate about. To share my truth, even if it means I have to show my own vulnerability, and make a difference. To use my voice as an outlook for others. To help inspire and encourage others to share their truth. If I have made a difference to one single person, I know I have done good.

POSTSCRIPT TO MY HUSBAND’S MISTRESS [ANNE]

Dori Owen

Who uses the word mistress Outdated. Antiquated. A state of old. Like you. Why not choose someone younger than me This I might deem justifiable. Sort of If such a thing exists in all things betrayal I’m not so much older than you What if justifiable was a Trophy Wife Read more

Dori Owen

Dori Owen is a storyteller, writing from small town Arizona, after living a few decades in California as an LA Wild Child, with a brief stop in Reno. She settled into grownup life as a project manager, collecting an MBA and a few husbands along the way. She is a shown artist and her favorite pastime is upcycling old furniture and decor she finds from thrift stores. She lives with the cat who came to visit but stayed. The love of her life is her grown son who lives in Portland, Oregon. Her essays and poems have been published in RAW&UNFILTERED VOL I, StigmaFighters Vol 2, and Love Notes From Humanity. Her blogs have been featured on The Lithium Chronicles, Open Thought Vortex, Sudden Denouement, and The Mighty.

400 Cans to Lunch

James Paraskevas

I don’t whine about hunger the wayother kids do when they’re given an apple, or told to wait until dinner, or told to waitwhen they’re stomping their feet while mommy and daddy examine the Halloween candies for razor blades and cyanide:I fucking whine.  Everyday it’s deviled ham with mayonnaise—with mayonnaise, mayonnaise, mayonnaise—enough goddamn mayonnaise to make Read more

James Paraskevas

James is a former Bostonian who has been kidnapped by his nefarious wife, force-fed nutritional meals thrice daily, and lovingly coerced to live among the shire-folk in the land of Southern New Hampshire. He teaches English at the local high school when he's not petting his cat, eyeballing dusty books, or professing undying love to the aforementioned wife.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHILE WE WATCH THE HANDMAID’S TALE

Anne Leigh Parrish

What if my dystopia is your heaven, my utopia your hell?We’re not on the same page, darlingMay I still call you that?You said it could never happen hereIsn’t that what the Germans said of Hitler?Where did they think his anti-semantic rants would lead?Darling, I know in your heart the idea Read more

Anne Leigh Parrish

Award-winning writer Anne Leigh Parrish’s next novel, an open door, will be published in October 2022 by Unsolicited Press. Recent titles from Unsolicited Press are the moon won’t be dared, a poetry collection, October 2021, and a winter night, a novel, released in March 2021. She is the author of seven other books. She has recently ventured into the art of photography and lives in the South Sound Region of Washington State. Find her online at her website, Twitter, Facebook, Medium, Instagram, Linked In, and Goodreads.