Sometimes I wonder whether tomatoes feel the slice of my blade,
whether carrots feel ignored as they languish in the fridge.
I plan a pot roast to make them feel useful, then wonder
whether they fear the slow […]

The Story & Clark piano with its warm, reddish brown finish looked nice in the living room and probably improved the appearance of our home. The problem was that none of us played the piano. So my parents decided […]

Tired of bars and discos where I met men who drank and were in search of easy women, horrified by the scary men I met at church singles groups, I decided to be bold and placed a personal ad in the newspaper. […]

CHECK UP OR CHECK OUT

Friday is library day for Ray who picked Friday because it kinda rhymes with library and other days don’t so much and becoming well-read and new worldly is high up on the list in Ray’s […]

Podcast: Exit in a blaze of glory.

A short story performed by Jennifer Sims.

Read the story online: Tips and Guidelines for Becoming a Shooting Star by Ashley Morrow

It was a sticky, overcast August day in the Connecticut River Valley, and it was going to be a heavy one.

Already, at 9:00 in the morning, Ed was poking his head into a series of little rooms upstairs in […]

Shoes is the story of the artist’s aging father who needed to give up a good pair of shoes because they no longer offered enough support. Harris inked the soles of these shoes and walked in them to make p […]

The oranges are all shaved. Rind showing—not undressed or peeled open, mind you, just
stripped for garnish. This is another way of saying you threw a cocktail party—which is another
way of saying you got you […]

The quarterly meeting of Streetlight’s editorial staff had just ended. It was a particularly uplifting one. It’s incredibly gratifying to be part of a team that is committed to ushering art into the world. We tac […]

If I had to pick a color to write about, it would be green. Leafy green, bold green, hunter’s green, the way it washes over the landscape after days and days of rain. Months of green from the beginning of May w […]

Collage has always been at the center of my creative work. I began by accident or twist of fate, with a pile of magazines and a pair of little pink scissors. A fun project to do something crafty turned […]

SPRING CHILL

With the spring day
coursing cool

in the shade,
I turn a street corner

and, struck by sun,
feel

a recollection
start to formulate, not

as an image, or even
as an […]

Sometimes, modern life feels dried out and far away from what nourishes. In our chase to connect, we climb ladders that promise better tomorrows and disconnect from what feels good under our feet. We forget the […]

Doris said, “Seems like it might snow. First of the season.”

She turned from where she stood in front of the kitchen window and looked at Martin. He was sitting at the table holding a nearly full glass of mil […]



Podcast: Down and out and on the brink of even worse.

A short story performed by Joe Guay.

Read the story online: Turkeys by R.H. Emmers

Last month, as we celebrated our daughter’s 17th birthday, it struck me that we would enjoy only one more birthday celebration together as a family unit before she heads off to college. Her birthday falls in O […]

I call him Fenimore
To remember his species.

Each morning
I walk to the mailbox
And look to see him,
Cased against the cold
In his feather cocoon of wings and trapped air.
He seems less a hawk than
An […]