I wake up to the smell of flowers blooming around me. Endless blue skies with birds chirping a tune and hearing faint laughter. I look around to figure out where the laughter is coming from, then I see my family chasing one another through the fields of wildflowers and our dogs barking with joy. I…

Nick checked his phone again. He had three bars and a strong signal. But his home screen was still empty. He opened it looking back at his messages. There were three from him in a row. They were all seen last night at 9:43 PM. Nick sighed, clicked the phone off, and put it back…

Long ago, okay, or maybe not so long ago lies a small town called Moonlight. On the surface, it appears like any other sort of town with a general store, a gas station, a mayor’s office, oh and don’t forget the church. A quaint little town. In the center of this town, however, is a…

People try hard To see the true card But life is just a prison That goes down rea far Another one’s tale Is another one’s gain But when the tail ends So does other people’s game Emotion impacts all But not all that are good People don’t see the true curse Of the world being…

Trapped in a body I cannot flee My mind yearning to be free The teeth of age ingest the remaining fragments of my  mind The loss I cannot feel The joys that pass me by   Biography: Marian Hesse is a professional musician actively involved in writing and photography. Marian began taking classes at Aims…

The dog lays and listens As the people walk by Wondering when some food would drop To fill his empty body.  

The September haze rolls in, a cold hold on the valley. Trees twist through cumulous forms, grocery bag braids hang below. The decades contained in a single day sing in one refrain; Greality’s thoughtless Xerox machine is fixed on an endless page. This September day, the same as the next, the same as the last,…

I am from unfolded laundry.         In piles in the dark, swept under the rug, but you should not acknowledge either.         Not the rug, nor the laundry. I am from mildew and stale air. But I am cotton that is warm and water that flows in the gutter. I am what wallows in the…

I want to be intrigued And need to feel desire My future is my decision Not my families to conspire Life can be tough Others try to have a say But to satisfy others You let your dreams go astray Promise to yourself you will grow In both mind and in life In what you…

In shadows, love resides with a troubled soul, A dance of emotions, a battle untold. Silent tears and whispers, in darkness we hide, Bound by affection, our souls intertwine. Oh, how love endures when the fiend takes its hold, An addict’s chaos, a tale to be told. With trembling hands, they chase the sweetest lie,…

The blue sky slowly darkened.  The air thickened and became vile.  The birds flew away as the clouds grew grey.  A roar rumbled through the ground.  A sweet scent of fire and smoke filled the young woman.  The air grew musty and grey.  The smoke choked her as she shed a few tears. The sweet…

The most creative person I ever knew was a man of innovation. He could construct a dollhouse zipline out of blades of grass, and would do so just to see his daughter smile. He taught me that the box is dull, it’s better to think outside of it. Imagination resembles a tree with endless fruitage:…

In the realm of the dank forgotten, a creature was born, forsaken by pride. Eyes flickering with hollow loneliness, a symphony of scars etched deeply, the pain shows. A personage stitched of sinew, raw and untainted, a patchwork of horrors, a tale intertwined. A scientist’s creation, cast out by fate, rejected by mankind, returned to…

  Content Warning for self-harm. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, thoughts of self-harm, or other emotional distress, please call the 988 crisis line for support.   Somedays It feels crazy, to want to be alive Like all around me is the smell of death As if God looks down on me as…

With only seconds to spare, and mere seconds to think; As your fears begin to rise, and you don’t stop to blink, Your mind starts to race- only stopped by a crack. As you look up to gaze upon a broken-up mast.    In fear for your life, you run down below deck- But to…

Once long ago, in a forgotten land much like our own, lay the old town of Vale. Vale lay cradled in a small vast valley, filled with great rolling hills interlocked with lazy, winding rivers and modest lakes filled with brisk, crystal-clear waters. All throughout the realm lay a plethora of apple trees as far…

The little girl sat in the backseat of the jeep. The tires spinning and turning as the car pushed forward. The cool summer breeze blew against her, as her shoulder length hair flew around in the wind. The little girl bickered with her older brother as the jeep followed the curvy road. Her parents sitting…

Let he who rocks the hardest, let him teach them how to roll; He who all melodies possesses should teach all the students; He shall impart his tasty riffs, and so they share it together. Gilgamesh was the best guitar player in all the lands. He was the undisputed King of The Six String, but…

Everyone knew not to look at the trees for too long. Stories had been passed down in the village of Anuria for longer than anyone could remember about the Forest. How it held everything together and about the Veil that separated our world from the Other. Everyone had their own idea about what the “Other…

“Care for some tea?” a small cup was placed in front of Anthony, the motion breaking him from his momentary trance, “It’s honeybush tea. I made it myself.” Anthony glanced between steaming the cup and the silver-haired male sitting across from him, “No, thank you.” he replied, slightly pushing the cup away to instate his…

It is said that flowers that bloom the latest are the most beautiful. I find this saying to be true. I have sung mendacious praises for those beneath me, as humility shows true talent. My faith in you taught me patience, that you would not write of me without knowing I will achieve greatness. Though…

My grandpappy used to always say that we were all born with hearts of gold. That we all naturally glowed brighter and with a gentler warmth than the sun could ever hope to match, and that we brought more joy and happiness than the peaceful dawn of a beautiful morn ever could. He’d always tell…

She opened the door and walked quietly into the house.  The place was completely still, and the sound of the train on 4th street was barely audible.  Each step created a small puff of dust and left the tread of her sneakers visible behind her.  There was a faint muskiness of wood and plaster in…

“Thank you for meeting with us again Mrs. Hamilton.” The detective said kindly. “Of course. Though, I thought this was a classic, ‘husband ditches wife but doesn’t have the guts to tell her ’kind of case.” I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Unless do you have a lead?” I inquired.   Detective Raymer cleared his…

I walked through the gates and vines to the backyard and was welcomed by a billow of smoke. The sisters gathered, grouped speaking low humming tones, raspy from the hot tar in their regal cigarettes. They wanted to smoke and so they would camp outside and wait between cigarettes. (If there was an in between)…