Submitting John Grey __________ We could all send blood, a few drops of the red stuff in a tiny corked tube. But how would the editor isolate the worthy from the doggerel? Not a pound of flesh. Editors aren’t Shylocks. But maybe an ounce or two. Like a little finger…
Read MorePost-Modern Polonius Anne Babson __________ “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell” – William Shakespeare Polonius stabbed behind tapestry — But audiences don’t mourn his murder. Hackneyed speeches are the real travesty. Today, when prose is cannon fodder, “There is nothing outside the text.” It bores, Bereft of meaning, say Doctors.…
Read MoreThere’s a Strand Dustin Radke __________ There’s a strand of uncurly hair that weaveditself through your bandana and fell just tothe right of your smile. Not to be too poetic,but it disobeyed the river of your hair and ledme straight to your smile, and now I miss you.I wonder how…
Read More“Boo”din: It Came from the Swamp, Oct ’22 Poetry Editor: Rachel Pittman Fiction Editor: Abbie Skinner Victoria de Benedicty, “Swamp Girl” (2022), oil paint and oil pastel Fiction “Dear Anonymous Cryptid Photographer” by William Hawkins “nothing to fear” by M. Caroline McMaulay “Summer Love” by Cassondra Windwalker Poetry “Feu-Follet” by…
Read MoreVictoria de Benedicty __________ “The Boyfriend” (2022) Charcoal and oil pastel __________ “Swamp Girl” (2022) Oil paint and oil pastel __________ Victoria de Benedicty is a multi-media artist, writer, and musician from central Florida. Victoria’s interests lie in what can be represented in an image and what an image inherently…
Read MoreSummer Love Cassondra Windwalker __________ He was a simple man, with simple hungers. In winter, he ate smoked and salted fish and popcorn. Come spring, he gathered fireweed shoots and dandelion flowers for fresh salads. And in late summer – oh, that was the best of seasons. All the sweetest…
Read MoreDear Anonymous Cryptid Photographer William Hawkins __________ Item. A letter to the editor published in the Tampa Tribune in which an anonymous woman details an encounter with an unidentified creature which appeared in her backyard, crouched and made ‘woomp’ noises as it stole apples from her back porch. The letter…
Read Morenothing to fear M. Caroline McCaulay __________ Since Arthur learned the formula to sleeping through the night was a dose of benzo and a G&T that was heavy on the T, it was the noise that became his most supreme irritant. The relentless hic hic hic. Oh,…
Read MorePumpkin Ash and Cypress Knees Katherine Quevedo __________ Bald cypress thrusts its knees in knobby little spires just above the waterline. Pumpkin ash bulges at the base of its trunk, engorged with brackish drink. By moonlight, I can almost discern the red spikes of cardinal flowers craning their necks alongside…
Read MoreFeu-Follet Danelle Lejeune __________ This trace is what’s left of us. Look for the weight of light, the particles falling down like crumbs. The mass of the universe is choking, leaving lines, chain burns, in my flesh. These pieces of you, pieces of me, we are stardust. The music of…
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