Beyond The Ether

You do not have to be here now all day, everyday Searching for cosmic signs, all that guru bullshit You don’t have to be perfectly good all day, everyday Life is exhausting and overwhelming It’s okay and welcome to check out once in a while Give yourself permission to eat Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.

my beloved: daughter of Jerusalem

mouth is better than wine. thy name poured after daughters, my soul loveth women. my beloved is dove eyes. i am rose and lily. lily love among daughters, apple tree among wood, will not spoil the vines. my beloved is mine, and i am among the lilies. daughters, come out Read more

Hillary Martin

Hillary Martin grew up in the rural south and attended Tennessee Tech University where she received my BA. She currently resides in Oakland, CA where she is working towards an MFA in Poetry at California College of the Arts. Previous work can be seen in Poetry Leaves, Clarion, West Trade Review, and Red Earth Review.

Rebecca

“Don’t stare at me like that!” I had cried out in a fury, but Duak kept her gaze locked on me. Looking at her blood red lips. Burdened, I repeated gently, “Don’t stare at me like that. They’re going to figure it out…” My face was blushed; my heart was Read more

Ozge Gozturk

I am a London based published author, multi-award winner scriptwriter, and journalist at KaosGL (An LGBTQ community magazine) I'm also judging New York Screenplay Awards and the founder of The London Independent Story Prize. Rebecca is one of my short stories. It's about a woman in pain. Many of my characters genders are liquid, they don't questions or struggle with it either. Rebecca is one of them. This is a scene I wrote while working on emotional architecture in my stories. It was inspired by a statue and a painting. I hope you'll enjoy reading.

If I Was Your Child    

Would you cover me in a coat of armor So my blood didn’t weep If I was your child Would you shield me from the dark The boogeyman that wiggled my doorknob whilst I sleep If I was your child would you smother me with sweet scented well-meaning kisses If Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.

Imagination

It was going to happen sooner or later. I couldn’t help it. I let myself imagine he was you. His hand on my hand. His lips on my forehead. His lips on my lips. I would believe that your arms are actually his and that they would wrap around me, 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.

Ten Things to Know

Ten There are ten beer bottles sitting on their – her kitchen counter. All of them were empty, lined up and she leaned her hip against the granite countertop as she spun a bottle. Her fingers danced around the spinning bottle on the dark grey countertop… the one they picked 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.

Crash Landing

The entire city was asleep, as if everyone had fallen off the edge of the universe. The sound of the fountains was heightened by the night.   Each footstep echoed your name loudly through the emptiness, as it bounced back to me off of brick walls.   A soft glow Read more

Ann Christine Tabaka

Ann Christine Tabaka is a nominee for the 2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry. She lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and two cats. She has been widely published in National and International publications and Anthologies. Visit Ann's Author page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ann-Christine-Tabaka/e/B06XF2PWSK

Walking Warriors

One cane in each hand, she’s doing the best she can One foot forward, then a tap, she’s going to do a lap At ninety-three, she keeps on going, while knowing Her tomorrows are few, but she is determined to do What it takes to feel alive, so she continues Read more

Mary Penner

Mary Penner has written poetry since the age of ten. She has always enjoyed telling human interest stories through rhyme and has recently begun writing stories in prose form. For twenty-five, Mary was a social worker and educator specializing in family and school counseling. She taught in elementary schools and in universities where she designed and facilitated the Program Planning Course. Mary's poems have been published in three anthologies: including two of Polar Expressions Collections of Canadian Poetry: Let's Fly Away, in 2017; Overture, in 2016. Mary is also a contributing Author in We are the Wordsmiths: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry, 2017 (Albatross Publishing). Also in 2017, Mary was one of the adjudicators of the South Simcoe Arts Council's Creative Works Writing Contest. Most recently, Mary wast the Audience Prompter in the play Saving Grace: A Victorian Melodrama by a fellow Wordsmith member.