Monterica Sadé Neil

You’re My Sister In the seventh grade, my best friend, Jade, and I watched pornos at her father’s while he and her stepmother were sleeping. I don’t think we ever called it porno though. We watched flicks. Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee that’s what we’d heard. Flicks. Heard it mostly from older boys and men…

Kyle Mills

Delineation of Bigwater In the canon of traditional Appalachian music, there is a haunting old time fiddle arrangement known as the “Yew Piney Mountains.” It is likely that no one ever actually composed this tune, but rather, it materialized out of the mountain culture itself- slowly evolving with each generation that played the song. The…

Audrey T. Carroll

Domestic Spirits Leigha did not believe in signs. In fact, she believed in very little that she couldn’t see with her own two eyes; she knew how dangerous that kind of belief could be. Instead, she was certain that the middle-of-the-night advertisement for a self-help book was mere coincidence, the algorithm happening upon something potentially…

Ace Boggess

Glad to See You’re Doing Well Your house, your cats—the onewith shaved punk head from chemo—your books of spells,your fantasies you haven’t read. Your house, your half-stitched quilts,your couch so soft to sink into itfeels like narcotic drift. Your house, your memories,your past unsafe like mineyou circle before diving in. Your house, your bedrooma revision…

Linda M. Crate

maybe they’ll give me apologies you wanted every kneeto bow before you,didn’t like that i threw a swordproving you could bleed; you made yourself a godwhen you were nothing morethan a mere man and i wanted them toknow just who they worshipped— & to my immense surprisemost of them still supported you, but one day…

Sandra Gail Lambert

Split Thread White, neon light splatters over the windshield of the spacecraft. Although Jessica knows it can’t be called a windshield. There is no wind in space. Maybe there is. Earthbound, previously earthbound, Jessica is uncertain. Gayle43 reaches over and yanks on her harness until Jessica snaps tight against what should have been the co-pilot’s…

Thomas J. Crowe

Winter Woods 1 Jack Bowman was three days into his twelfth year on Earth when he decided he would go to the edge of the property, where the family farm met the aspen trees, and walk along the fence and see what was what, and maybe he’d build a snowman or make a snow angel,…

Kathleen Minor

Brief Notes on American Heroes April 29, 2021 As I left my old college campus today, I got to thinking about the last time I’d made that drive in March of 2020, before I really knew who John Lewis was and before “pandemic,” had reshaped the everyday lexicon of American English. I was there to…

John Abbott

His Curse All the men in his family died young:Bad heart, bad lungs, bad luck.A curse that left the women widowsAt an awkward age – too old to remarryBut too young to give up desire completely. The family spoke of the grim traditionBehind closed doors, away from the young ones,But he knew. He listened on…