Short Fiction, short story, six sentence story, writing

Home

Photo by Paula Nardini on Pexels.com

Shandy set up her room at her Aunt Cherri’s house, placing her framed pictures of her late husband and her son on her dresser. Grazing the edges of the scrolled, antique textured frame surrounding her husband, Shandy sighed and began talking.

“Honey, it’s a new start for me, being here at Cherri’s, and I always thought we would be moving here together, but later in life, yet here I am, at a new house, a new life, but just so you know, it’s not the same without you,” and with that a tear rolled down her cheek, followed by a few more droplets before she stepped away.

Shandy stepped outside and leashed up Candy for a walk, and off they went, the fresh air pleasant to her and to Candy, they both sped out in a trot, before long, Shandy’s head cleared, and her eyes saw new possibilities as the neighborhood was near a small shopping center and that was where she found a diner, a homey looking place, with a “Help Wanted” sign on the window.

Stepping out after getting cleaned up, Shandy walked to the diner, “I see you are needing help, well I have lots of experience, may I please get an application?”

“Have you worked a full-house, lunch crowd, we could use you right now,” and with that, Shandy felt a confirmation that she had found home.

…..

This is my response to the Six Sentence Story challenge word “Home” provided by Denise of Girlie on the Edge. Would you like to submit a story? You can go HERE

Announcements, Poets & Events, TTOT

Ten Things of Thankful – April 9 2021

Happy Friday and TTOT day! I found my graphic for National Poetry Month. I has saved it and couldn’t figure out where and there is was in a special folder for April. Duh… Let’s see what’s on the thankful meter…

  1. I found said graphic. Isn’t it pretty. This month is all things poetry. It’s been busy already, but I always look forward to it.
  2. The say to not stare at the sun because it can mess up your vision. After the good news I could not share, I looked at the shadows, the clouds and saw some glimmers of silvers linings which showed me that, a too bright sun can shine the light but you have to pay attention to the clouds. That’s the silver linings part, the clouds showed me that the news I could not and still cannot share was not to be and I am thankful that I was able to make a choice about the decision.
  3. The Poets Coffee Table Talk turned out beautiful. It was well attended and the sharing, the poetry, the important messages about social justice all came together to what I think is an increased awareness.
Susi Bocks shared about her anthology and some of us read contributions.

4. Heart Beats is published and there are two poetry readings on Saturday. These will be by contributors to the anthology. I am thankful how this is all coming together and I am excited to bring all this talent together under one virtual roof. And I am grateful for all the poets for their contributions. Here are the links if interested.

Poetry Reading by Contributors to Heart Beats – Anthology of Poetry

Saturday, Apr 10, 2021, 10:00 AM

Online event
,

6 Poetry Lovers Attending

Heart Beats Anthology of Poetry was published in March 2021 This is an opportunity for contributors to share their poetry and celebrate the publishing of this book of poetry. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736562002

Check out this Meetup →

Poetry Reading by Contributors to Heart Beats Anthology of Poetry

Saturday, Apr 10, 2021, 7:00 PM

Online event
,

4 Poetry Lovers Attending

We want to celebrate the publishing of Heart Beats Anthology of Poetry. Come celebrate with us as the contributors read their beautiful contributions to this anthology. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736562002

Check out this Meetup →

5. I had my annual physical and my numbers were pretty decent. A couple of tweaks needed, but over all, it is not bad. And I have shot number two out of the way. I have a lot of tiredness from it and soon this will pass.

6. The collaboration is coming along nicely.

7. I have been reading a lot of poetry and doing reviews. How would that not be a huge thankful?!!

8. I have contracted again this year for judging a competition. I am grateful for this opportunity.

9. I am grateful I don’t have to go out in the pollen. Not everybody has this choice and I pray for them to be able to manage each day.

10. YOU! What’s your thankful? Please do share either in comments or by posting a blog post. We love to hear good news. Bernie is all ears!!

Photo by LARAINE DAVIS on Pexels.com

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=a8b40ada7693d64e5923
poetry

Poet’s Coffee Table Talk April 5 2021

Just like in the old days when poets came together, perhaps imbibed, or had some coffee, and talked about the problems of the world and how they would use poetry to speak their minds. This is a Coffee Table Talk.

We had a select group of panelists:

Susi Bocks

Chyrel J. Jackson

Maxima Kahn

LaVan Robinson

For this event, Susi Bocks shared about her anthology of poetry as well as some of the poets involved will share their poetry.

We also talked about using poetry for social change.

About Our Panelists:

Susi Bocks, writer/author/poet, has self-published two books – “Feeling Human” and “Every Day I Pause” and is the Editor of “The Short of It,” which she is developing into a anthology. You can find her work at IWriteHer.com or follow her on Facebook, where she invites you to read her thoughts to get to know her. Bocks’ work has been published in the anthology “SMITTEN: This Is What Love Looks Like: Poetry by Women for Women” and in VitaBrevis, Spillwords, Literary Yard, and other literary magazines.

Chyrel J. Jackson is a poet and artist who, along with her sister Lyris D. Wallace, published “Different Sides of the Same Coin.” It is a modern collage of poetry as experienced from the Black female perspective of 2 sisters and authors. This collection of poems is refreshing and unique. It is a heartwarming work of new age black voice and spoken word. This adaptation highlights the human experience of life, love, loss, parting and sorrow. Timeless wording, honestly written with a little of the unexpected. Black Expression has never been more relevant and real. This work is an interesting twist on Harlem Renaissance revisited as it collides with 2020 social struggles of our current time. In no short order we are reminded of why written and spoken word is so vital to the sustenance of African American Literature. Website: sistersrocnrhyme.com

Maxima Kahn is a writer of poetry, essays and fiction. Her debut collection of poems, “Fierce Aria,” was published by Finishing Line Press in 2020. Her work has been featured in numerous literary journals and on popular blogs and she has twice been nominated for Best of the Net. She has received scholarships and fellowships to the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley and the Vermont Studio Center. Her popular workshops and one-on-one mentoring in poetry, creative writing and The Artist’s Way have helped hundreds of people to unleash their creative gifts, realize their aspirations and create lives of passion, purpose and deep play. Having taught formerly at the University of California, Davis Extension, she now teaches and blogs at BrilliantPlayground.com. You can get intimate, insider access to her creative projects and process at Patreon.com/MaximaKahn. She is also an improvisational violinist, an award-winning composer and a dancer.

Veteran Larry Richardson started writing poetry in high school and as of October 2010 he published the second edition of “Songs of Lala – the Poet” Richardson shared, “I love poetry and will use it to inspire people and bring them closer to God.” He writes under the penname of LAVAN ROBINSON in honor of his mother, Mary Robinson. Robinson has published 4 books of poetry and is working on his 5th, a collaboration. Other books by Robinson: “Love’s Rhapsody,” “Cries of a Society,” and “Love’s Anticipation.”

Book Reviews, poetry

Book Review – Juntu Ahjee’s “Ebonology”

Poet Talk with Jim Krosschell Prolific Pulse Press Podcast

Jim Krosschell and I sat down for a discussion about his latest poetry book release "Man Afield" and more. About "Man Afield"Man Afield is a lyrical journey through the living world, guided by a backyard naturalist attuned to both wonder and warning. These poems chronicle spiritual and physical excursions into landscapes larger than any one mind or body — places where awe, joy, disorientation, and reckoning intertwine. Organized in six evocative sections, the collection:I. bears witness from a seaside deck;II. wanders through yard and neighboring woods;III. explores the shifting shoreline;IV. imagines the vast and restless ocean;V. surveys the scars of environmental damage;VI. honors home in its many meanings. Throughout, the poems dwell in the charged space where humans and the natural world meet. They examine our peculiar paradox: we are the only species that knowingly fouls its own nest — and the only one capable of choosing restraint. With clear-eyed honesty, Man Afield mourns the grinding erosion of precious places while celebrating the stubborn beauty that persists despite us — and sometimes because of us. From deck to forest trail, from tidal pull to smoke-streaked sky, these poems trace one person’s evolving relationship with plants, animals, weather, memory, and spirit. Intimate yet expansive, they invite readers to travel outward into the wild and inward toward belonging.​Man Afield is at once a field journal, a meditation, and a love song — to earth, to home, and to the fragile bond between them.Learn more and make your purchase: https://www.prolificpulse.com/jimkrosschell
  1. Poet Talk with Jim Krosschell
  2. Poet Talk with Ed Ahern
  3. Writer Talk with Darls Centola as she talks about her debut memoir "Finding Truth with Michael"
  4. In Conversation with Mimi Nichter | The Memoir Hostage
  5. Chyrel J Jackson Recites "Americana Was My Grandmother's Glory" included in "Unsung Canaan Ballads"