As a woman, I’ve been on the receiving end of this indictment multiple times throughout my lifetime. Certainly beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this type of “attractiveness” judgment that society thrusts upon young (and older) women can send most of us spiraling down into a shame cycle. The quote that titles this…
Category: WOMEN’S FICTION
If You Need Me, I Will Be Over Here Wishing I Had Better Aim – by AMY ROSSI
If You Need Me, I Will Be Over Here Wishing I Had Better Aim Here’s what I did: 1) deleted the text message thread from my phone so I couldn’t analyze how “I was just thinking about you” turned into paragraph-long excuses for being busy and then the truth; 2) worked out, a…
Impersonator – by KATE JONES
Impersonator She dresses carefully – ever so carefully – for the meeting with him. She wants –needs – for him to see her as the woman he thinks she is. She feels, as she dresses, that she is impersonating the woman he wants her to be. The woman she wants to be. She…
Dinner With a Side of Everlasting Happiness – by GRACE BLACK
Dinner with a Side of Everlasting Happiness Sticking my hand down the garbage disposal is something I almost never do. In fact, I never do. Maybe, it’s the visions of sheer horror that play out in my mind. Bloody nubs emerging from the black hole just to retrieve a wedding ring. Is it worth…
Restless? Angry? Tired? Well, then! Come sit next to us.
(Your daily dose of inspiration, brought to you SLM-style) Welcome to 2016, guys! My last letter wasn’t positive or uplifting—and I won’t apologize for that. Pretend I’m a man, just for a second. And then re-read my letter. WOMEN: stop apologizing for being who you are. Stop, stop, stop. Stop apologizing for writing—or saying…
Lay Down Your Ghosts – by Caitríona Murphy
Lay down your ghosts by CAITRIONA MURPHY I was a ghost, but as far as I was aware, I was still alive. Just about. Physically, I remained much the same as always; the same dyed hair, fuzzy with split ends. The same blue eyes, inherited from my mother, maybe a shade cooler. The same…
Rumors – by NIKKI COODY
Rumors by Nikki Coody Great, now rumors are spreading Oh, is that really true? Shh…it’s a secret So, can I tell my friend? I can’t undo the trouble… Please…just don’t tell anyone else… *** [This is an Acrostic Poem by Nikki Coody] ***Nikki Coody is a 2nd grade student currently enrolled in the gifted and…
Absent Moments and a few Haikus from CORINNE HACKWORTH
Absent Moments by Corinne Hackworth There was a time that I walked to the sea When I arrived I stood at the very edge so that the waves could tickle the tips of my toes but only just I closed my eyes and leaned my head back so the wind could take my hair and…
Taking Up Space – by KATE JONES
Taking Up Space It starts off a hot, sticky morning the day I wake up as a man. I hit the alarm and realise something isn’t right when my hand catches the stubble on my chin. I run my hands down to my chest under my vest: it’s flat. My large breasts aren’t rolling sideways,…
Labrador – by JEN ELLERSON
Labrador. It was raining the night she brought it home. One of those fairytale puppies with the oversized ears and the fumbly legs. It was the last thing we’d ever expect; a new member to our already-oversized family. Another thing to have to look after and eventually ignore. But there she was, the…
Enlightenment- by R.L. BLACK
Enlightenment by R.L. Black I went to see The Guru who lived in a hut made of bamboo with a roof-top garden and curtains the color of the sea. His only possessions were a mattress on the floor and an empty bird cage. He wore crisp white clothes and sat cross-legged and I begged…
To Be Sure – by MICKIE BOLLING-BURKE
He reached the top of the stairs, arms full of clothes. She put her hand on his chest and pushed him backwards. The look of surprise was wonderful – she would relive that for years. To be sure she had succeeded, she poised at the top of the stairs and jumped straight down on his…
