Tiny feet waddle,  With the sturdiness of a seedling. Gleeful giggles fill the air, Emitting the joy of perfect possibilities. Editor: Erynn Crittenden

Unjustly, the road East is now ClosedTo everyone trying to leave the city Heed the Warning!Abandon the Office.Go to the emergency parking bayUnder the building.Avoid the bomb-damaged streetsAnd the armed militia. The once-safe, Great Ocean RoadHas become the Wrong Way.It is the new Government’s Private Property,And Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted! There is only One Way ...

Sometimes, I wish to pause time, Just to spend forever with those I love. Many times, I wish we stay stuck in a moment, So I never have to say goodbye to you. Editor: Erynn Crittenden

Why is the crowCarrying such a large twig?It is not nest building time. Maybe a strengthening rod,To help hold the new chicksIn their cozy cradles? Or a protection stickTo help ward offThe feral predators? Whatever the reason,His tenacious flightIs a weighty mission! Editor: Erynn Crittenden  

Every rock I kicked asideEtched her moon-washed shadowAcross the distant sky Every stone I bounced over the wavesMirrored her olive eyesWithin my bleary dreams Every sod of earth I walked uponResurrected her memoriesWithin my lonely heart And with every phase of the daylight moonThe frozen rivers in my weary soulBegan to thaw

I’m putting all the notes together. I’m raising the highs and dropping the lows. It all has to synchronize perfectly. I can’t let them escape. I shouldn’t make it obvious. So, I paste a smile on my face. Why not? I smooth out the bleeding cracks. I cover it up with careless perfection. Till I’ve ...

Wheelchairs cruising along dim hallways,the heels of white-cloaked saintsclicking with each deliberate step,carrying trays of food and medicine. A wailing newborn cry echoes among tilesborn into a world of chaos,sorrow, joy, and summer nightswithin the spectrum of life. A weary individual waits in a crowded room,He hopes heaven will answer his prayers,begging and pleading with ...

I know the patterns that gracefully line the ceiling. I know the number of rectangles that align so perfectly. Because, while I lay in utter silence, My mind struggles to communicate with me. She fears I may drift too far to return  If I spend one more minute lost in emptiness.

I stepped into the fringe of winterwhere ancient deciduous treeslooked prosaic and timewornwithout their tessellated leaves however, between the bare boughsthe birds continued to boundfrom branch to branch resilient to nature’s seasonal changes come rain or shine, May, or Decemberthe birds warbled their perennial tunes

Dadum Dadum… that’s the sound of our synchronized heartbeats That’s the only sound we need to hear for now, my love Let our hearts shut out the noise of a troublesome day And let it soothe our love-struck souls, at least for today.