Our Celestial Dance

by Karen Walker Moonrise as he turns in the driveway. The old Chevy’s headlights scan the bedroom wall, a lunar landscape scarred by everyone who’s rented this shabby place. Down the hallway, the bathroom nightlight is a weak little star. It fades as he closes the door—damn toilet will run on and on—and then reappears as if clouds passed by. Read More

At Elephants World, near Kanchanaburi

by Randel McCraw Helms In Thailand, aged, blinded elephants transportAt the piano of volunteer Paul Barton,Whose love of animals and music willAlter your saddened heart. At a sanctuaryFor abused and damaged working elephantsHe has placed an old upright in a meadow.When he plays her favorite Beethoven, Lam Duan(“Yellow-Flowered Tree”), her crusted eyes streaming,Will slowly pace from the bush, trunk tip Read More

The Sky Is Also Blue

by Toni G. There’s a young lady in the corner, not so far from the dance floor, lost in the fantasy of what her first dance should be like and with whom. She waits with her head slightly bowed. Insecurity creates beads of sweat on her perfectly scrubbed and powdered skin. She looks down pretending to admire her new gown, Read More

Dust

by Rickey Rivers Jr. That dust             does dance                        in the air                                    with little care                                                 for allergy                                                            or infant. Inevitable pest,            plaguing homes and such,                         a silent guest,                                     growing,                                                 ever growing,                                                             waiting                                                                         to be wiped away. Rickey Rivers Jr. was born and Read More