The Big Snow by Rich Elliott The first thing you should know about my mom was that she loved to bake. I have this image of her bustling around the kitchen mixing things, the eggs and butter and whatnot, a smudge of flour on her forehead. She made these amazing sugar cookies with frosting on … Continue reading “The Big Snow”
By Sean Crawford December vagabondsOn a blue street cornerIn a winter GaryThey got here in the boxcarOf a circus trainSlept in the piled hayOf painted horsesNow they wait for their next expressTo ferry them off to St. LouisThey lean against a big brick buildingSnowflakes scatteredBy the mill’s steely smogThe empty azure boulevardSmelling rich of metallic … Continue reading “Scene of December Vagabonds”
By AE Lanuza Franken “Before the snow falls,” He says, He wants a little more meat on his bones. So, he eats, White cherry cola slushies from Speedway That his younger daughter happily buys for him, Big Macs that his too American daughter Started requesting at too early an age, Noodles that his wife doesn’t … Continue reading “Winter”
By Katie Lynn Johnston So, we were driving. This stretch of highway I’ve been on so many times before. The city was already far behind us, and the sky was starting to fade into inky pinks and soft oranges, rose colored clouds swirling into mountains on a silk-screen sky. The sun was bright coming … Continue reading “None of My Business”
By Chinese Poet Yuan Hongri Translated by Manu Mangattu Ah! Of iridescent gems of time The heavenly road you paved light！ In a kingdom of stars, I found my home. In the golden cities, I opened the gates of the city to the sun, To behold the godly giants. At the royal palace of the jewel … Continue reading “Platinum City”
By Paul Negri Marilyn Johnson lost her husband John on the same day Stew Daley lost his wife Dale. They lost them in the same place, Barton Memorial Hospital, at about the same time, 3:30 or so on a snowy January morning. John and Dale were fond-of-fatty-foods-and-sweets-overweight-smoker fifty-somethings. Both diligently ignored the signs of an … Continue reading “Endings”
By Rich Elliott Minutes before the race Shannon the Bitch prances by me. We nod at each other, smiling falsely, and I look away before her sweetness, her girl-next-door act messes with my contempt. Not to worry. I’ve already seen her blazing sponsor-logos and her high-tech racing flats. Her cameraman filming her as she does … Continue reading “Play Nice”
By Paul Negri “I don’t understand.” Marsha watched her husband Matt load the back of his black Jeep Wrangler with plywood. “What’s to understand?” “Why now? You haven’t been hunting in years, Matt.” “That’s exactly why now.” Matt looked at Marsha and tried to smile but didn’t quite make it. Smiling had always been an … Continue reading “The Blind”
Northwest Indiana Literary Journal 