Antonyms for “Affluence”
It is a myth that mice
are impossible to eat.

I see my tuxedo
on another man,

a groom or musician.
It is a myth

that the bride will be thinking
about Queen Vic […]

I recently accepted a beautiful piece of writing by an author who wrote back to thank me — and to graciously say he’s open to feedback—which was a lovely, appreciated response. Writers have been known to b […]

Sara Biel has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2021 Poetry Contest

I Want to Give Him a Chance
Her voice is thin, scrapes and rolls, a dry leaf across the sidewalk.
My fingers grip the phone, […]

When my late husband set out to write his memoir he purchased Life As Story, by Tristine Rainer. He studied the book’s exercises and wrote in the margins. I want to read his annotations again. Feel the swoop of […]

In the summer of 1967, the year of my high school graduation, the Newark, N.J.-adjacent town of Plainfield, where I grew up, exploded with race riots. I was in Washington, D.C. when it happened, working as a G-2 […]

Nate Jacob has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2021 Poetry Contest

Mourning Doves
Looking back, the choice seems obvious.
A man is given the chance in life
to select from a pantheon of […]

The 2022 Streetlight Essay/Memoir contest has concluded. I’m happy to announce our winners: Betty Wilkins, Catherine Childress and Susan Valas. All three essay impressed our judges with their strength of narrative […]

Elizabeth Nowak has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2021 Poetry Contest

Dear Mi-Kwon

Before the whole world went mad,
you wrote to ask about my life
in beautiful America. I could not then […]

My work is inspired by sacred geometry, which is thought to convey sacred and universal truths by reflecting the fractal interconnections of the natural world. By reiterating these ratios, my work […]

Hey, son. It’s your Mama. Hope y’all are doing good up there. I’m callin’ cause I’ve got a little problem here.

So, did you hear about that storm we had a couple days ago, that derecho? Well, none […]

Zeina Azzam has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2021 Poetry Contest

Forgive Me
For lying to the teacher in the school yard
Talking ill of my friend behind her back

For making an excuse to […]

It’s just a stupid old oak tree, I keep telling myself, while I sit at the kitchen table and watch the white winter sunlight bathing its branches. It’s dying, I say, as I wipe away tears and busy myse […]

The Moroccan village was the same color as the surrounding hills and empty desert. The landscape had three primary colors: sandy tan, sky blue, and, occasionally, palm tree green. The young couple, tourists […]

Victoria Korth has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2021 Poetry Contest

Mr. Abraham
You would unstick huge floor-to-ceiling windows
with a metal-clawed broom handle,
soak the floor where […]

I’m not squeamish about getting my hands dirty, knees soiled, but I never thought I’d be writing about garden club ladies.

The county Garden Club (founded 1935) recently donated their records to the loc […]

William Prindle has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2021 Poetry Contest

Apologizing to Ferlinghetti

You never took
                      the deal
the hand
            Am […]

Moreover, you must walk like a camel, which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking.–Henry David Thoreau, “Walking,” 1861

Solvitur Ambulando. Since Wordsworth logged his 175,00 […]

Luisa M. Giulianetti is the 3rd place winner of Streetlight’s 2021 Poetry Contest

The Pepper Jar
…………………………..for Dad
Guided by the moon, you germinate
seeds. Transplanting infant […]

Hello Book Lovers!
I’m happy to share that my novel, The Book Lovers, will be published in October 2023 by Regal House Publishing, a small, highly congenial press that specializes in literary fiction. Set in G […]

When Stevie Nicks was a witch in Florida, I sent her letters on stationery purchased from the canteen.

The new girl at the youth residential center told me her mother was Stevie Nicks, and also a witch. I […]