All posts in Writing

July 16, 2024

“I Slept in my Clothes Last Night” by Alan Berger

*Featured image courtesy of Shane on Unsplash* Alan Berger shares another one of his poems with us this week. This poem has quite a sad tone, mixed in with some excellent lines and rhyme schemes. It all goes by so quick One day you’re experiencing Your first licorice stick The next day you’re at your urologist’s Hat in hand covering your dick It was not more than a few ago years When my melodic voice caught pretty ears It all goes by so tough A familiar thought is I have had enough But you plow Somehow I wrestle with myself In the dark With the eternal As I make my way thru the external Sometimes I sit at the end of my bed as my feet shake the floor The guy in the apartment below…

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July 4, 2024

Pablo, by Ronan Hart

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Ben Hershey on Unsplash* Everyone handles grief differently, and Ronan manages to capture this excellently in this short story. Enjoy, and happy Independence Day for those of you who celebrate! He’s sitting at the top of the steps leading down from the decking to the lawn, facing away from us. His head is bowed, showing the bald spot on his crown, ever-expanding, immutable, and I ask mum if he should be putting sun cream on it if he’s going to be sitting out there for so long. She pauses in her plate drying, gripping it so tight that I’m worried she might shatter it, before sighing and setting it on the workbench with a disregard that would have earned my seven-year-old self a stern reprimand. She closes her eyes for a…

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June 28, 2024

3 Poems by Jonathan Lloyd

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured image courtesy of David Sinclair on Unsplash* Jonathan Lloyd joins us with captivating descriptions and a refreshing style that will keep you engaged through all three of his poems. The old man from Wales gyascutus picks his way through the bramble thorns on his way to pub. His knee bothers. The beer warm. The company chatty. The rain. The window–fogged. The old man walks home through the bramble across bogs, underneath bright spilled sky. The field a rimfull of misty heaven; the thorns’ lesson slumbers, all light, the window hindsight clear year on to yesteryear. There’s no word for snow in Inuit– that’s baloney. Must be fifty. Yet the Greeks did not have a word for word. And they wrote them alltogetherlikethis and then .sihtekilrehtegotlla The Germans just stick stuff together to make a…

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June 24, 2024

“La Hacienda de Las Chismosas” by Rachel Gonzalez

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Katsiaryna Endruszkiewicz on Unsplash* This week we are proud to present another piece by our Writer-in-Residence, Rachel Gonzalez. Rachel has put a lot of work into creating this story, and it has resulted in a truly beautiful piece of writing. They come to La Hacienda to ease their bodies and their minds. It’s a resplendent house of generations that will always stand. The burdened, the troubled, the mischievous, all come for the caring touch from the hands of the hacienda. With more importance and reverence than any state building or diplomat’s home, it is the beating heart of this town. A home to all, if even for a moment. Halls of brightly-tiled walls and dimly-lit ways for privacy and peace. Cobblestone paths meander and lead into the heart of the hacienda….

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June 20, 2024

4 Poems by Glen Armstrong

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Pexels on Pixabay* Glen Armstrong has a unique voice and style that leads to some magical lines in his poetry. Check out his four poems down below. Antonyms for “Blue Grass” Has the violin been over-repaired? It doesn’t sound hillbilly enough. And what about my singing voice? There are worse ways to earn a dollar. I holler at my sweetheart the way I holler at an animal that it’s time to eat. Rich folk leave the Met pretending their feet do not exist, pretending that a God they don’t believe in has chosen them with a magnet tied to a string tied to a bamboo fishing pole. We invite them to pull up a chair, but they are statues broken from their bases. We offer them bread, but their bellies are…

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June 19, 2024

Excerpts from “Ocean of Tears” by Ololade Akinlabi

Posted by Malik White in Interviews, Writing

Ololade Akinlabi is an author who isn’t afraid to discuss gender and societal issues in his work. Included below are two excerpts from his upcoming novel, Ocean of Tears. The excerpts are followed by an interview with Ololade, where he discusses his inspiration for writing the book. CHAPTER FOUR DUNSI AND HER CHILDREN DRESSED FOR CHURCH and waited patiently for the decision of the pregnant clouds that loomed outside. As she settled into her seat on the sofa next to Ariyo, Dunsi couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride in the vibrant garment she had purchased for her daughter. The intricate details and colors perfectly complemented Ariyo’s natural beauty. Itunu, seated beside Ariyo, looked dashing in his African wax print Ankara outfit and brown sandals. Tobi, who occupied the other end of the sofa,…

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June 14, 2024

6 Poems by Marissa LaPorte

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Ian Deng on Unsplash* We have a nice collection of poems this week by Marissa LaPorte. Marissa evokes a lot of emotion in her writing, which we were immediately drawn to. Let’s give her a warm welcome to the community! Smoke and Nostalgia on the Underground City Train The city smog was suffocating Air purifiers blasting noise like static on the underground train Those purifiers didn’t have a chance against the thick city air It swarmed in like hordes of black flies every time the train stopped and dared to open its doors to the harsh conditions of outside Silly us for thinking we would be safe underground Sillier that people still believe it is a long-term fix I stifle the urge to laugh in the face of the absurdity Maybe…

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June 4, 2024

“All’s Fair in Love and War” by Brandon Breen

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Jack Ward on Unsplash* This piece by Brandon Breen takes us on an emotional journey that also gives us some insight into Italian history. This is truly a special piece and we hope Brandon shares with us again in the future. Padua, Italy, 1968 Everything was about to change in Gabriella’s own country. Not everyone had the foresight to see that the revolutionary spirit brewing inside the students would soon be turned out onto the failures of Italy itself. There were so many injustices going on in Italy and the entire world and it was ironic that it was an occurrence on a worldwide scale that reflected the lens back towards Italy. Others were convinced that fascism was dead and gone and ignored the fermenting of familiar ideology. What most people…

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June 3, 2024

3 Poems by Ndaba Sibanda

Posted by Malik White in Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Ian Kiragu on Unsplash* Ndaba Sibanda is a skilled poet who writes lines that are both intelligent and emotional. Take a look at his excellent poems below. Doors Of Justice a loss of mental faculties for a ruthless street robber and an infamous killer got tongues wagging- with many citizens claiming karma had finally knocked on the doors of justice Ours Is An Unbreakable Love Your gains are the pains of villains, Your grins come in several scopes, I really revere your super sunrises, but Beautiful Beloved, I’ve requests despite your stunning, seemly sunsets. You’re the nub of love and custody. You’re not just any other landscape, for at the core of our link is a bold bond. Ours is durable, divine, dear and decisive. Though I can live yonder, it’s…

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May 29, 2024

3 Poems by Mickey J. Corrigan

Posted by Malik White in Member Writing & Art, Writing

*Featured image courtesy of Talha Riaz on Pexels* These poems are a bit different from our usual postings. They are written as a biography following the husbands of the poet Dorothy Parker, and their life with her. On Dorothy Parker by her First Husband (Edwin Pond Parker II) When I met her she was small a woman you could woo breathe her woody scent run hands down slim hips have lively discussions her sweet gentle voice sharing words of love. Time sharpened her edges her soft speech peppered with bricklayer swears her radical views cutting bitch wit deep sense of injustice anger at the rich which I took personally, insulted as provider in our home scion of a fine family successful stockbroker she seemed to reject all that she had come from that I was giving her she bit the open hand of her master once too many times. After the war I returned from the front different…

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