My Father the Mixologist by Mara Lee Grayson If you’d met him on a Greyhound bus in 1962 he’d have asked you to look out for Kerouac on every corner or find Mickey Mouse beneath a pal […]

Portraits by Nigerian Artist Sholanke Boluwatife Emmanuel   The portraits of Nigerian artist Sholanke Boluwatife Emmanuel reveal his empathy, respect and sensitivity to his subjects. “The suffering an […]

Gradoo by Richard Key Etymology uncertain. That is how the dictionary deals with the origins of the word gradoo, tip-toeing lightly around a word you wouldn’t want to s […]

Love Not Cheaply by Giancarlo Malchiodi Nonna tends Dad and Auntie in three room railroad flat; Bathtub in kitchen, 3′ x 5′ plywood tabletop, fridge at foot of bed, toilet in outside […]

We All Have Our Problems E. H. Jacobs   You and your wife are sitting in your therapist’s waiting room. You look at the door, paranoid that someone you know will come in and you’ll atte […]

To Be a New Yorker by Elizabeth Meade Howard   The train whistle trumpets its warning. I watch the woods, meadows and marshland slowly morph into urban views and city skylines. […]

We Need Appointments to See Friends by Gerald Yelle Because we didn’t ask Abraham to do anything we wouldn’t do ourselves. We don’t owe him any explanation. Let him think it’s revenge in advance […]

To See the Universe in Cinderblock by Alex Joyner With all due respect, Mr. William Carlos Williams, it’s not the red wheelbarrow on which so much depends. It’s the cinder block car was […]

A Dead Love by Chibuike Ukah My father stared at me like a rose full of lint. He was wondering how living haunted me, spreading through my face and body, how it serenaded me […]

Poetry Contest Winners for 2025 by Sharon Ackerman and Fred Wilbur   We are excited to announce the Streetlight Poetry Contest winners for this year. But first, several observations: we are pleased with your […]

Avocado by Christopher Dungey In the century most recently expired, pigments to suggest certain fruits and vegetables were infused into the metal of appliances, plastic […]

The Photographs of Rachel Turney   Rachel Turney has traveled the world with curiosity and a camera. It all began in childhood. “I started taking pictures of houses in my Mi […]

HWY 20 at 30 Bottles a Minute by M. R. Whitt   I’d thank the heavens my shift is over but I can’t think straight long enough to do it. I don’t even remember pulling past the gates of the […]

Framework by Susan Shea I pattern through my day first thing, I walk across the green geometry of my rug telling myself I will stay on course, breathe […]

What Would Shakespeare Do? by Fiona M. Jones What do you do when something ought to be a word but isn’t yet? You’re typing in something you’ve written, and a little red line appears under […]

Thinking of Queen Elizabeth While Waiting for My Son at Dance Class and The Solitary Mare, 2 poems by Sarah Lilius Thinking of Queen Elizabeth While Waiting for My Son at Dance Class The Queen’s body, enclosed in leadand English Oak, shifts forward for six h […]

From a Persian Kitchen by Ruth Knezevich Ruth Knezevich is the 2nd place winner of Streetlight’s 2025 Essay/Memoir Contest Prepare fresh herbs—4 bunches parsley, 3 bunches cilantro, 2 b […]

Aritifice or Intelligence by E. H. Jacobs So, I found myself in a restaurant with my wife, two friends, and one friend’s first cousin whom I had not previously met. After drinks and a […]

Portrait with Amulets by Alison Hicks I wore a turquoise donkey bead on a thong around my neck— choker, bead and knot resting in the space between collarbones. Glass eye facing o […]

Final Thoughts by Christopher Ghattas Christopher Ghattas is the 1st place winner of Streetlight’s 2025 Essay/Memoir Contest Whenever someone tells me that they, too, are dying, […]