Good Job

By Abe Margel It was the kind of hot and humid day in June that made Toronto feel like Miami. On the scorching sidewalk women in summer dresses and men in uncomfortable suits shuffled through a pair of wide wooden doors leading into the convocation hall. Inside the air-conditioned building a happy crowd was assembling. …

Jill & the Mountain

By Nancy Lou Henderson Jill turned onto the dirt road that led to the house. Looking out of the car’s windshield, she could see the house up ahead and the towering Mountain that stood behind it. Stopping the vehicle for a moment, Jill slowly inhaled as she took in the breathtaking sight in front of …

Cobalt

By Jim Bates During the first month of lockdown, Courtney, my wife, and I had a family meeting with our three kids. She did the talking. “Okay, the school is setting up for distance learning so that’s what we’ll do. Your father and I have organized our schedules so he will be here on Monday, …

Not Here

By C. Toto Zaremba We used to walk here together. We wondered who the people were And who they left behind. We knew them only as names on stones. We knew they were no longer here. Your name is not on a stone. You would never sit here quietly. I don't come here to visit …

Academy Classics: The League

By Thomas Page Mary Susannah Damon did not expect this to happen. Sure, dabbling in the Dark Arts would cause some closed-minded people to say that she was in league with the Devil himself, but she did not expect the League of Magic meeting at her local civic center to be so intolerant. "What do …

Capital Disappointment and Signs

By Arianna Sebo CAPITAL DISAPPOINTMENT Scissor Wizards hair whizzers extraordinaire buzzers and bleachers braiders and curlers lady with headphones greets me at the door she barely acknowledges I’m wearing no clothes she must be listening to a soap opera on those phones I watch her eyebrows flicker and twitch like a newly born caterpillar I …

Soap Bubbles

By Michal Reiben Clouds drift on a gentle breeze in an Iris blue sky. Tree’s branches sway in the warm light wind and birds in the trees chatter. An old hag wearing a moth-eaten dress with a face like crumpled paper is sitting on a bench by the side of a playground. She’s enjoying the …

Je Suis Un Pied Noir

By Alexandra Baff 1835 I still don’t understand why we had to leave. Why would anyone want to leave the sunny, beautiful, majestic south of France?  As we arrive in Algeria, into a city called Oran, I recall my tedious journey by boat. My mother and father constantly reassured me that this would be an …

The Tunnel

By Nancy Lou Henderson It was time to begin her journey, and Elsa wondered, was she prepared? Once taking the first step on to the pathway, there would be no going back. Elsa took a deep breath, then saw herself at the opening to the tunnel. A path stretched out in front of her, leading …

The Life-Blood of Poetry

By Lori Newbold   I release my thoughts into the care of words So they can fly upon the wings of poetry. Soaring among clouds of creativity, And then gracefully landing To their home on my page. The life-blood of these emotions flows, Freely as ink from my pen, Forming sentences that give voice to …