The rumble snapped Fauna’s attention ― horse hooves pounding into hardened earth. She cautiously peered down from her cave; a cliffside hideaway perched more than ten meters above the forest floor.  A golden misty glow surrounded four horsemen who came to a halt directly below. Three had crossbows at the ready while the fourth lit their path with an oil lamp. The steeds, clad in royal garb, stamped and reared nervously in...

A young ladybug named BarryWas lost on an African prairieChoking on dustHe thought that he mustNever again follow that lying canary. He heard of a race being heldFirst prize was a trip to HartfeldA village near homeWhere no lions roamIf he won, his woes would be quelled. At registration, he met a flamingoWho introduced herself as Jingo.She was quite the forceHaving designed the courseAnd was smitten by Barry’s glow. She t...

Thurman appeared to me on a Tuesday, in a wall tile of my newly renovated bathroom. It was a little after six P.M. and I was drawing a hot bath. I perched on the edge of the tub and waited for the water to reach that perfect temperature. I was tired. Worn out. Exhausted. My day had started just like any other day. Alarm at five A.M. got dressed in the dark, scurried out the door by five-thirty-five to open the cafe by six...

I didn’t even see the nail. It may have been a screw. It didn’t really matter what it was, all that mattered, at the time, was that it snagged my sweater. Actually, now that I think back on it, it was a nail and it was rusty. Clumsily fastened to a tree by someone probably advertising a tag sale or maybe offering guitar lessons. Either way, as I passed by, the mindless head of this nail perfectly latched onto a wayward th...

When I was twenty years old my grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed before I turned twenty-one. In all my years leading up to that day no one ever sat me down and taught me how to deal with the pain of loss. There were no classes in school. My mom never explained how it would feel, or how to cope with that pit in your stomach. It was just one of those things I had to figure out on my own. One of the...

Before you, blues were just blues,And love was just love. Flowers were just flowers,And the sun was just light,And the ice, just crystalsWeighing down the mighty boughs. Bodies were just bodies,Molded from mud of telluric ash,Returning as dust,At the journey’s end. Before you, love was just love. And in the morn, ahead of the moon,The heavens would spread its gold.And the ice would sparkle,And the eyesThat just saw, would...