My father emphasized traditions and Christmas was no exception Always, button up shirts and glasses of eggnog around the dinner table Regardless of heavy and  humid Decembers in Alabama But none was heavier than when his seat was left bare   My mother bought the biggest tree, it scraped the ceiling And never had I…

The past month had been gray. Nothing but gray, but my thoughts were only black and white. Emptiness filled my being; food lost all flavor, color lost all pigment, music lost all feeling, I lost all joy. There was no point to life anymore. I had felt emotions so intensely for years, and then, I…

In the short duration that I have spent on this planet, I have been through a lot. My experiences as a military brat have given me some unusual opportunities to see the world in a different way. For the four years I lived overseas, I was able to live through some amazing and awful things….

“That’s my baby.” Barney stood as if he were riding a horse, his hat tilted back, enthusiastically pointing out the bar room window. He nodded to those nearby, his gaze returning outside; he just stood there. He whispered it again, more to himself, an assurance it was true, his smile never dimmed. “Just looks like…

Her fingers were cold as frost-bitten glass. They twitched nervously in her lap, which was absurd because she had nothing to be nervous about. The doctor ushered her toward a chair, “Ms. Oswald, you might want to sit down for this.” She arched an eyebrow, “Just spit it out, young man. I don’t need to…

They called her ‘Little Red: Rider of the Hood.’ She was the leader of the Riders, the most fearsome gang in Cantum City. No one really knew what she looked like, but everyone said she wore a red cloak to hide her badly scarred face. No one entered or left the Hood without Little Red…

5:00 am alarm. On most days, she dreads the sound, but not today. Today, she wakes up in the glorious city of Prague, or Praha, to the locals. Klara has always dreamed of the day that she would visit one of the oldest and still most beautiful cities in the world, the country where her…

Hi, it’s me, Vinny. I know that you didn’t answer because you don’t recognize the number, and you never pick up when you don’t know the number. And the reason you don’t know the number is because I’ve never called. Gosh, I’m rambling and embarrassing myself. Maybe I should stick to writing letters or constantly…

You could say I was a little surprised when a portal opened up in my room. It was very late at night, and the house had settled gently into a comforting silence, interrupted occasionally by the chirping of a cricket. At the time, I was reading, tucked under my covers, too engrossed in an adventure…

a funeral a crowd of black swarming around a closed casket hot tears on cold cheeks four words, five syllables the sky became cloudy once the golden child died and I remained they look at me I know what they’re thinking four words, five syllables the dull cry of a violin footsteps far too gentle…

you’ve hung your clothes on the line clipping each cloth gently with a clothespin praying it doesn’t rain knowing it doesn’t matter anyways   the kitchen sits empty darkness resting in every corner the smell of damp wood and coffee lingering in the air the loneliness oozing out of every inch of your being  …

I awoke as I now know myself among the ash trees by a shallow pond, their branches spread wide. After taking a drink from the clear water I grabbed the smooth stones by the bank and considered how I may have found myself swaddled by the ashes’ shade. I pile the stones, starting from the…

Aisumasen  Marmalade skies and tangerine trees Were just a daydream Milk and honey once sweet Is now empty as a yellow submarine I wish for yesterday But now she’s leaving home I wish it was getting better But sadly happiness is a warm gun The Gift Of Ignorance I was once a saturday child Batman,…

In this state of mind A prison Feeling trapped in any direction I go Dreading what will come next That’ll never let me sleep Endless thoughts Some call it overthinking To me An everyday routine Some days it’s pianos and classical Others it’s heavy metal and rock Or neither Seems it plays these thoughts whenever…

Insomnia My mind and heart crouch toe-to-toe, To wait for gunshot’s blast- For when it sounds, they’ll start to race, When all but time goes fast. Ah night has come, which splendid feast, Can body, mind, and soul sustain, I, for one, have starved so long, That hope, I know, is had in vain. For…

After a morning of flying around the Forest of Constelville “flying” errands, I’m headed home to take an afternoon nap.  I have a close friend named Woodman. Woodman is made out of logs, twigs, and a whole lot of personality. One thing to seriously note about Woodman is that he doesn’t care for the privacy…

Content Warning* Story contains depictions of self-harm. (In any story you will ever read, there is a moral or something we take from it, but this story is only meant to be heard) It is a warm Sunday morning as a 15 year old boy is laying on a cold bed in an emergency room…

The set resembles that of a dirty trench; the background set pieces have large mountains visible. Three characters are gathered around the trench. Two of them standing next to each other a fair distance away from the other who is standing on a box to elevate his height. The two men are wearing two messy…

Deep in my gut, the denial grew Blossoming over till it spilled anew Gone were those happy-go-lucky days, The day that July 3rd came Sweeping away what once was- My companion The heat of summer took you Before the first storm came, You were gone, and it came And I wept

Characters Jasmine (Jaz) – Older sister Chloe (Chlo) – Younger sister Frank – The body The set shows rooms throughout the house. On the bottom floor, you can see a living room that leads into a kitchen. There are stairs going up from the living room into a hallway. You can see into two bedrooms…

Sweet candlelight. Dancing in the depths of nightfall. Sweet candlelight. Caressing the shadows all white. Wax runs down like a waterfall. It almost dies in a cool squall. Sweet candlelight.   Biography:  Braidynne Brashear started Aims in the fall of 2018 as a Concurrent Enrollment student. She graduated from high school and Aims in 2020. Braidynne…

Setting: A City Court Room Time: Before and after a court case Character: A 20 year old contemplating the death of his mother and fate of his father  INT. BENCH OUT FRONT OF A COURTROOM – MIDDAY I would say I didn’t think it would happen to me or her, but that’s hard to say…

Once upon a fine, grey afternoon, in the heart of some large city located some distance from here, the weatherman made no indication of snow. The weather had not received this memo and had proceeded to lightly rain tiny white crystals all over the place, leaving several inches of the stuff on the undisturbed rooftops…

I hate to write poetry The words never go where I want ‘em They limp along precariously And they never stay where I put ‘em My rhyming scheme is inconsistent My meter is all wrong This poem needs some assistance No good words rhyme with wrong