A car barreled through the light and hit the man, flipping his body like a rag doll into the air. He'd been carrying a bouquet of yellow tulips, now scattered all around like petals at a wedding. Norma E. Redfern
You’re like brightly lit candles on some birthday cake You’re the morning star that welcomes daybreak. You’re the crowning joy at circus time You’re the thrill as spaceships begin to climb. Florence Levine
You have such warmth, and yet you seal yourself within a globe of glass where I can see yet never touch, approach, but never hope to pass. Larry Turner
I go to the closet for my robe, and there behind mine is yours. Removing it from the hanger, I hold it to my face, burying myself, breathing it in, seeking your smell, yearning to pull you close. Danielle B. Schneider
Biting off each word, Mama said, “Tell the principal that Mrs. Clarkwill be back tomorrow morning. Under NO circumstance is my child going to wait two hours for a bus to come and pick her up while she plays alone in the dirt on the playground.” Maxine M. Clark
Rebekah revealed that her brother had told her all about something called French kissing. She launched into a vivid and accurate description, with a couple of “yucks” and gagging noises thrown in. “Benjamin,” Stan said, trying to keep his face from melting into a puddle of laughter, “where did you hear about this?” Mary Coffman-Burke
Bipolar my sire, complex was my dam. Toast’s hard to swallow with bugs in the jam.
So I packed up my clothes in a sack with my cat, wrote them a note, then I got my hat. mr. kelly patterson
Mom loved beans, rice, plantains and café con leche. As a young girl in Cuba, she learned to make fantastic desserts for her grandfather. Danielle Rodriguez-Scheider
It feels wonderful to sit down and watch the blue lights on the Christmas tree. Windows done, potato salad made, ham ready for the oven. All I need is to get through tomorrow and then, child, you can come anytime you like. Donna H. Turner
“Pete!” Mrs. Holladay hugged him. “You’re so thin!” The tears began to flow. “That’s what a single bowl of fish heads and rice each day will do for you. I’ve been a Jap prisoner in Manchuria all this time.” Rod Vanderhoof
Suddenly, colored lights appeared, so many that the tree seemed to be on fire. Robert smiled, happy that Helen was part of his wonderful dream. “It’s so beautiful I don’t want to wake up.” Helen felt the tree, the decorations. “Robert, all this is real. Right here in our home.” Joe Metz
“Mrs. Gordon is wondering where you are,” Amadea said. She knew the old crone spent too much time tippling in the still room. She’d feel pity for her if she wasn’t such a scold. “An’ I spose you told her, aye? Mind your own affairs, princess. Stupid business, taking in strays.” Diane Scott Lewis
Green growth spreads from slender limbs Many fingered leaves.
Cool breezes through branches sing in the air Wind on chimes.
Lofty rain bestows moisture To drink like wine. P. June Diehl
My real parents gave me their name so you could remember them long after they were forced from my banks.
I am Rappahannock
Along with my sister, Potomac, my adoptive parents let me keep my original name. As for my brother, he was renamed James. Elizabeth Talbot
With bloodied beak and talon she tore off tiny chunks of meat, pretty morsels to feed her three chicks. This flying huntress, winged-death, a doting mother to these, her brood. R. L. Russis
“Zander,” called the owner. “Can you pull that truck out without unloading the lumber?” Rarely did the boss ask a black person whether he could do a job. Zander looked under the truck carefully and said, “Yas, sir. I'll get de oxen.” Zander returned with all twelve oxen, hooked together as one team. John R. Henry
We glide down the slope into the Rappahannock bottomland between pastures and woodlots. We see the traffic light long before anything else ahead. Three rows of wooden cottages crouch at three corners of a crossroads, with a depot for flagstones and the driving range closed for the season. James F. Gaines
Magazines in every corner Rubber bands on lids of jars Silk ribbons and dried flowers Glossy brochures from afar.
Mantle, desk, and table Piled high with worn out books. Long forgotten potpourri Tucked away in tiny nooks. Madalin E. Jackson
Late December, season shoppers in a huff, clad in wool, furs, and muskrat hats.
The subway grate, home of the nameless, a cloud of steam for the requiem of life… Mercedes Paz-Carty
The two young girls moved about with excitement, unintentionally personifying hope and promise. Shelby recalled the hope of a young woman whose husband died in her arms twenty years ago. Lisa Witte
On knowing the score— whether playing it by ear or reading music, it isn’t accidental that we are shaped like violins, guitars, cellos, every curve of flesh as meaningful to our music as the subtler curves of wood to melody. Anne H. Flythe
I hired a local driver to take me to Choeung Ek, the most infamous of the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge. It was there that Pol Pot’s regime tortured and killed over 17,000 of his own people. Chuck Hillig
“You can’t simply leave me.” Audra, on the verge of tears, stared at the table, refusing to meet his gaze. Romanchenko could not have been more disgusted. “There is no choice. I have been reassigned,” he lied. Greg Mitchell
Consider the squirrel and the story of how the hair on the tail of this small and seemingly insignificant animal went from flat to bushy. John M. Gaines
Rabbit sits as still as stone Does not move an inch On closer look rabbit is shrub. Virginia Bare
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