Summer BBQif you were a little bird ......... overheard at my BBQ - isn't he like 60?- are the burgers done? - you hear Uncle Saul moved to Texas? - is she still with that white boy? - damn Royals really suck - she's pregnant, really?? - sad about the tornadoes in Oklahoma - damn it, he's out of beer - he does know how to barbecue pork - looks like rain from the south - just throw in 10 bucks for beer just think this is w...

The sweet aroma from coconut shampoo Permeates the cells in the air I sit silently as she washes the silvery fuzz Which is all that remains of my hair All is quiet except the sound of the water Falling from my skin into itself And my eyes fix on the gauze and dressings That cruelly mock as they sit upon a shelf A garment that used to belong to me Hangs from the knob behind the door It doesn’t know it will never touch me a...

Live or Die I noticed Alex on the last day of her senior year, I knew this would be a life changing day for her, I just had to wait for the events to occur. It was the day they were all waiting for; it had finally come. The last day of high school was among them and they were only 5 minutes away from walking out those doors for the last time as high school students. The clock ticked as each second went by when finally the...

Sure, I'll just walk behind you, breathe in the smoke blowing my way, that's bad for you, ya know, and even worse for your asthma, but you don't really care, do you? Why did you pick up that habit?  Why did you start smoking? And I don't mean just the cigarette kind.  Did it seem cool to you? Was it interesting to you? Were you curious and just got stuck?  Yeah, so I have questions, and I don't approve of this behavior, b...

PART ONENaomi sat, staring out of the city bus window. She held two large, brown shopping bags on her lap. The bus was not really crowded, but she did not feel at ease. Looking out the window was her way of avoiding eye contact with the other passengers. An undercurrent of fear caused her to wrap her arms around the crumpled shopping bags. Clutching the bags close to her, she sat silent as she peered out the window. It wa...

PART ONEIt’s that time again, that time again--that time between mid-November and the end of December. Yes, it is that time again, when everywhere you look, everywhere you go, you are reminded that you need to buy something for someone. That time again, when kids, momentarily, are on their best behavior in an attempt to parley or negotiate a bigger bonus of toys and other gifts. Yes, it is that time again; as the temperat...

Some words that we believe exist, really don't. Our family dinner that Sunday held a certain amount of importance. It would be the first time in ages that we'd all be together at a time besides a major holiday — and the first time my two older sisters would meet my boyfriend, who by then was already an unofficial fiancé. Their opinion wasn't a deal breaker by any means, but I hoped they would like him as much as my parent...

I sat there looking in his eyes.  They focused then looked away, What is happening...why can't you stay? It's not fair and I don't care. I'll be selfish, I want you here. My eyes blink and fill with tears. I hear these idiots in the background. I refuse to turn around. He keeps my gaze and I return it. These last minutes with him I won't forfeit. Find your savior, get your peace...I hear. I say to him...Don't worry, you h...

Attraction It begins as an attraction, much like two magnets are attracted to one another until they combine almost as one. But, when magnets are separated by distance they then lose attraction to one another. Yet, when two young lovers are separated, the compulsion to rejoin one to the other increases the greater the distance apart. Across the room is bearable, across the city is disconcerting, Across the country, almost...

Mary: First Observation I am Mary Cobbler. I live in Far East Territory Region 1 of the God’s Domestic Haven Sect. I do not know what I want out of life, because all my life I have been told that I only need two things: to live a Godly life and to please my husband and family. But I have a secret I have been keeping. A confession to make that starts by the dark waters of the little bay town where I live. Something I have...

“The play is the thing!” and there we were. Lights dim. The orchestra being itself. The actors being someone entirely different. All was as it should be. The moment was perfect. A mini-vacation.... the first outing since the funeral. Nearly grown children sitting one on either side of me. The Godspell of Stephen Schwartz provided laughter along with quiet moments. Then it began... “Day by day, day by day, oh dear Lord, th...

Summer holidays aren't what they used to be. Everyone's into my baby brother now, which is fine, but it means I've got to look after my little sister. "Take Louise for a swim son." She can't swim. She's only six. She just paddles and cries if too much water splashes her face. There are some kids about my age climbing round the bottom of the big rock nearby, exploring its rock pools. They'd let me explore with them if I we...

I can't let myself think about him. The sun is shining down on my pale back for the first time in days. A black butterfly with white spots is dancing around in the light breeze delighting in the day and inviting me to join in. But he comes to me unbidden. His face. His walk. His presence. His. Him. Breath in. Breath out. He is my past. Any chance of a future with him is gone.Chloe Brown loved gardens. Her earliest memory...

The clowns have gone packed in their tiny red car,Balloons deflated after a big day on show,All that remains is birthday cake crumbs and a very tired one year old boy. As the first star falls into sight and the last page is turned, Sheets are folded back and new toys make mountains in his first new room,His second year waits with walking and talking on the rise. Walk to the bed tears are shed, Mother catches her toe on a...

If there was one thing that Nell hated more than anything, more than taxes, more than bridge tolls, more than wet socks and rain-sloshed shoes, morethan garbage skips on a hot day and lumped milk and vegans who can't go anywhere to eat without customising everything on the menu... more than spineless parents and people who talk through films and eat too loudly and Facebook, more than snobbery... if there was one thing, ab...