He had to prove that he could bring back honey. His fingers gripped the edge of the cliff as he dangled above the grasslands far below. His pack was slipping, and his best friend was only a few feet below him on the rock face. Avi hadn't wanted to bring him along, but Onath insisted. He gripped the jagged edge of the stone with his other hand and lifted himself up. His pack slipped off his back and plunged down to the sun...

I came out of my bedroom to find my housemate Charlotte gazing at herself in a full-length mirror. She looked quite pretty dressed up in a long blue dress for her sister Sara’s wedding. Her brown hair was trimmed and styled better than I had ever seen it before. A little silver pendant holding a ruby hung from a chain around her neck. Charlotte had even put on makeup beyond just lipstick, a rarity for her. “What do you th...

The road disappeared behind me as I drove up the narrow, rugged gravel driveway to my family’s ancestral home. As I rounded a treacherous bend, the old house came into view. I was glad that I had thought to rent a 4x4 pickup for the trip. Years of abandonment and neglect had led to that bend being partially washed out. That washout was the first thing that I would have to fix if I decided to renovate and repair the old ho...

Nails on a chalkboard The sound of his voice The extra day’s visit When given no choice The fog-laden air And lack of sunshine The cool winter breeze Causing my sister’s whine The quickly raised voices Insisting they’re right The misinformation That causes a fight The great indecision Which channel to choose? The card game we’re playing That I’ll likely lose It’s time to embrace While the clock chimes sound And say, “Happ...

They have to leave the house, the house painted so lovingly, they carry their cat with them, they already placed their dog In a kennel, till they find a place, they don´t complain, they go on, just seeing all is taken care of. And the child follows them, shaken for a minute at first, at their rapidly changing station, comforted then at their new one. They would change hotels, adjusting, making ends meet, keeping together...

Amazing and beautiful sisters I’ve found. Cross generations and continents abound.   Newly found kin from yesterday and today. Welcome and comfort in a heartfelt way.   Voices bringing sisters back to the light. Gone but not forgotten makes the journey feel right.   Gathering mixed emotions along the new way. Sadness for the missed, joy for my sisters who play.   Though divided by history and space. Deepest connections ar...

If I had one wishI'd be a fishI'd swim the seaand make a splishIf I had one otherI'd make a brotherWe'd splish aroundWith one anotherIf a third would comeI'd make a mumTo make us smileWhen we were glumIf a fourth were hadI'd make a dadTo keep us safeFrom all that's badThen out we'd set, and swim all fourSkimming above the ocean floorFrom coast to kelp to shell to shoreAnd skip and play forevermore  

I discovered the secret to having a Merry Christmas long ago. It was Christmas Eve 1993. I stopped by my brother Gene’s home to drop off the presents I had gotten for my nephews, John and Nic. John was 9 years old and Nic was 7 years old. It was about 7 pm and I was invited to go to Midnight Mass. I enjoyed the time before mass playing with my nephews.  I had just been dumped by my long term girlfriend. The way she dumped...

One bright and beautiful summer's day, The Jingles family --Mom, Dad and their two kids-- decided to go on a picnic and play at the park. They packed a big basket filled with submarine sandwiches, fresh fruit and their favourite delicious cookies as a special treat. They packed everything up in their car. Dad said, “Ho! Ho!” Mom said, “Hee! Hee!” The kids said, “Ha! Ha!” Unfortunately, they were so excited to get going th...

0430 Military time, 8 year old Theo would wake up, clean up, put on his dungarees, and fill up with whatever Mama bought that week.  By 0515 get to the corner for the farm truck to come by. Everyone there was speaking another language, yet they came to know him well. Theo was from an old mold, they said. They all remembered starting work so young in "the Old Country." Some never spent a day in school. Life was to be worke...

In dream, my skin has been charred soot-black, not all over my body, but on my arms, my legs, my penis, my chest. In dream, I only notice the burns if my eye happens to fall upon that area of skin. There is no pain. No pain, but a deep, shuddering fright when I see my blackened flesh and am reminded once more of the severe burns I carry. It was a dream the night of September 11th, 2006, five years after that other Septemb...

Lonely:With his good hand, Tom raised his glass and drank deeply. Blergh! He thought, making a face. Raspberry Vodka. It was all they had. All he could find in the house, all the other drinks and alcohol being wasted on the mourners at Cheryl's wake. He'd found the raspberry vodka in Sue's room, stashed under her bed. He didn't know what had possessed him to check there, but a thought at the back of his head struck him wh...

The basement didn’t show up on John’s radar until about a year after they had lived in the house, though other spots did, and much more quickly. His daughters took note of the upstairs hallway before they even moved in. Em said it felt weird. John felt it too, and even Alice, who did not put much faith in the supernatural, said she thought of the countless footsteps of previous lodgers and families who used to live here....

“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...

The house stood at a high vista spot square with the cardinal points and with a clear view all around over the barbed wired fencing to pastures and other houses scattered across the landscape. The single story frame house was moved from its foundation just a short distance away as the crow flies. It had been the farm home of a working family out on a back road just a few miles south. The outside walls were covered with ta...