Magic

By Gene Lass

My boy

Perpetually dressed

In his brown loafers

Cargo pants

And soft jacket

Had pockets to spare

Loving them

Like his father

And great grandfather before him

In the breast pocket he carried

His magic superball

That helped him be brave

At the doctor’s office

Where he won the hearts of nurses

And flirted while on the scale

With the ball

Was his plastic Green Lantern ring

An official replica

No more official than

The blue, red, orange, black and white replicas

He kept in the closet

But only green was in his pocket

At all times

Only green was powerful

Because he knew it was real

Green Lantern was the hero

The good guy

And so was he

Brave to the end

To infinity and beyond

(for Shane)

Safeword

By Ashleigh Lynne

Tear stained prose

Carved from starlight

Etched into my retinas

(Their) ghost behind my eyelids
(I) don’t know for whom they’re written
But they met paper by my (own) hand

I memorized the shape of sadness

Took the second left on the way to Hell

These thoughts these feelings
Only (half) mine to expell

What do you do when there’s no one left to blame
When the only feelings left all circle back to shame
What good’s a safeword when you hold the reins?

About the author
Ashleigh, 39, is an appreciator of all things involving sincerity and creativity.

Untitled

By Ashleigh Lynne

When the memories of full of landmines

How do you navigate who you used to be

Each year’s a new chapter

26 letters bent- repeating - taking you

Further from who you could be

I don’t know where this is going

But I write the best part

Lost the plot on the way to the ending
Can’t find my way back to the start

About the author
Ashleigh, 39, is an appreciator of all things involving sincerity and creativity.