Homesick by Terri Mullholland
The whole neighbourhood had expired. Only a few houses were still standing, all on their final exhale. ‘They did warn us,’ said Grandpa. ‘Told us the average lifespan of a living breathing…
Read More
A Dolphin by Bethany Jarmul
Underwater you can’t hear much—you can’t hear Mom and Dad arguing after you’re supposed to be asleep, you can’t hear your mother crying in the kitchen over a pot of soup, you…
Fish Flail Out of Water by Denise Bayes
Mabel arranges the slabs of opaque cod caught fresh from the River Wear. Places them in circular patterns on a bed of ice flakes. Her shoulder blades tense, feeling Da’s eyes watching…
The Desk by Carson Schulte
I follow the grooves of the wood, tracing back, remembering how it felt to swing all on my own. Little legs pumping, six years old, lifting higher and higher, teetering on the…
Siri Siri by Benjamin Drevlow
This morning I’m out on my walk and dictating this pome to Siri and simultaneously thinking about how Siri is Iris backwards, which is what the human girl I once knew named Siri used to say back…
Whatever I Saw in You by Karen Jones
I saw you in a peach yesterday. Fuzzy, first moustache, pink flesh, smelling so fresh. And yet, back then, you seemed like a man to my girl: tall, muscular, strong. You were…
This is England by Donna Tracy
Snowdrops, crocuses, primroses, daffodils. Frogspawn in the pond. Butterflies, bumblebees and ladybirds, lighter mornings, April showers. Brightly coloured Easter eggs tumbled in a basket, spring lamb for lunch. Sticky buds, cherry blossom,…
Third-person Bio by Kik Lodge
Shauna May lives by the river with her two parakeets. Her work has been published in various journals, including Stodgy and the Toiler’s Review and she is currently working on a novella-in-flash…
Shattered by Stephanie Carty
A sleep researcher’s life unravels as she attempts to uncover a mystery, in this debut thriller from Stephanie Carty. Christie works at London’s Somni Company to help others with sleep disorders. However,…
Songflight by Sarah Royston
A far-off tractor hums as we set out through the field. Since her last flying visit I’ve thought only of her. Now she’s back, I don’t know what to say. “Skylarks!” She…
Platform by Phebe Jewell
Citizen X rides the subway, armed with an eloquent, steady hand. Lost in their screens, the other commuters don’t notice the thin man swaying in the aisle, one hand clamped on the…
Bulletproof by Claire Taylor
A week before kindergarten starts, the school sends an updated safety protocol. All students will be outfitted with bulletproof shields. They will be taught how to hold them over their bodies as…