Have you found them? Don’t worry, most people can’t on the first try.  They’re there, all right, but only reveal themselves to those who are ready to believe, to accept, to embrace.  Close your eyes and open your mind. Clear away the prejudices, fears and preconceptions. Suspend your skepticism. Relax and let all your senses — even those you don’t fully perceive or comprehend, and may not even believe in — do their jobs....

Indianhead summer begins in the middle of June. That’s when the grass along the roadway of our rural Wisconsin town is available to be mowed. Six years ago the Town approved a resolution to prevent town mowing operations until the second week of June. Tall grass up to the edge of the roadway is the price one pays to protect the habitat of ground-nesting birds. It’s acceptable in northern Wisconsin because an unkempt look...

The world where I live in is my imagination. Ever since I was a teenager, I always liked being alone lying on our house's rooftop covered by the tree branches. The swaying leaves gave me shade from the harsh burning rays of the sun while talking to my favorite tree and eating my manzanitas with the birds, or sleeping after all of my house chores was done. Hiding at the rooftop, daydreaming the rest of the day before my mo...

Lush forest greenery Vines creeping over Under the big old trees Covered by the mystery Miles and miles of history Morning mist kisses the earth Dewdrops fell on fertile land Breeze caressing the leaves Freshwater falls and running wild Fishes dances into the river valley New plants begin to sprout Fruit bearing trees blooming Wild beast roams the mountain Gentle creatures grace the land Insects busy buzzing Birds singing...

Come with me, my love.Your flower awaits.Let's wander In the anther and frolicIn the sea of pollen.The time is fertileTo taste the nectarWhere the beesCollect the pollenSavoring the nectarThat becomes the honeyStored in the honeycomb of the heartFor the cold winds of winter.

Relentless. The undergrowth of beginning. The endless overgrowth without a finale. Twining and vining imperceptively, Yet, interlocking in a stranglehold for life. Creating its own atmosphere in a limitless terrarium. Providing sustenance while feeding upon itself. Nature in consort with planetary purpose. Adapting to each assault. Flexing but not breaking. Surviving even the pestilence of man. A forgiving mother. But a h...

Carin absentmindedly scratched Rubbish behind his ears while the tourist images of Israel scrolled slowly across her tablet screen. Her best friend asked her to join her on a trip, but Carin was unsure, Maddy had cancer, but Carin just got a new job and was broke and don’t know what to do. Suddenly Rubbish’s head snapped up, his ears upright like two antennas. He startled her, and she grabbed for the tablet that flew from...

Sprinkling softly, the rain falls down to earth, like tears from the heavens. Ironic in this moment, as my own eyes start to well. I close my eyes and bite my lip, pushing back my feelings as a clap of thunder shakes the ground. My once-treasured thunderstorms are leaving me empty, broken. Thanks to you. Bittersweet I suppose, I always knew deep down I was never good enough. Oh so painfully you made it crystal clear to me...

A short story excerpted from “The Rats and the Saps” Chapter 1: MotherI guess I’m older’n them hills on this god-forsaken planet. I don’t reckon I know how old those hills are. Come to think of it, I don’t rightly know how old I am neither. No matter. I usta turn a man’s eye. Now I ain’t much to look at. No matter. I’ve had a hard life. I don’t need no man’s pity and I ain’t ashamed of anything I ever done. Not even birth...

The sun’s heat was particularly humid in the open plan office, as though the windows were large magnifying glasses, the workers under inspection, the heat rebounding from their computer monitors to bombard them as though they were in an oven. Benjamin Lowell looked up as a shadow fell over him. Trevor Ingram was standing there, holding out a bacon and egg sandwich and a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "You’re a workaholic, you k...

  1   It was the light percussion of a triangle that did it. The soft ting of it incorporated with what would be a rather drab tune, that roused him from slumber. Head pounding, eyes swimming in a sea of their own fluid, he blinked away sleep to the real nightmare (not that he remembered if he had been dreaming, or what it would be about anyway). The old-fashioned style corded phone’s receiver lay beside him on the leathe...

Joined, once upon a time.  Innocent young lovers blending themselves. Joined together within the primeval femininity that they shared. There in the understory of emerald green sensibilities. The bosom of heaving, weaving, leafy, tender grown emotions. Are those sensations still there. Those dark, humid, steaming passions and sentiments they shared. Do they still, up to the upmost, down to the down most...  Still share the...

"Hashem Shaabani"(Raanana, February 11, 2016) I think I was six years oldWhen I held my father's hand in the sukAnd saw my first hanging,God is great.So was the heat of the sunThe dust and the gnats,Praised be He.I asked my dadWhy that man was dancing in the air,God is great.First he shushed meThen he saidThe man had waged a war against God,Praised be He.I asked my fatherWhat kind of man would do that,God is great.He whis...

by Mike Stone A short story taken from my third sci-fi novel, “Whirlpool.” The old man shuffled down the long white hallway in his pale blue paper slippers. Underneath his thin blue institutional bathrobe, he wore the brown striped pajamas that were his hospital uniform. Had he tried to escape by shuffling out of the hospital, they would certainly have caught him because they moved so quickly and he shuffled so slowly. He...

“Where the hell are all the forks?” John grumbled from the kitchen, not for the first time. “Emily takes them,” said El from the dinner table. “No I don’t!” wailed Em. El turned to her Dad. “Emily takes them and she hides them,” she said. “This is between her and me,” said John. “No need to get involved.” Sensing a temporary victory, Em added, “And quit calling me Emily!” John shushed them both and continued making breakf...