A jingle of keys, the crinkle of paper bags, and the bounce of mules on forest green carpet heralded Lara’s return from the grocery store. As she unlocked her door, she smiled at the brass numbers that marked her realm of tranquility. Once inside, she set the bulging paper bags on the kitchen floor and turned toward the glowing flat screen TV in the otherwise dark living room. From within the living room, Danny uttered a monotonic “Hey” without...

      Elise moved her wireless optical mouse to reveal her desktop wallpaper: a lone faerie, seated on a column, in a long flowing dress that ended in a jagged hem of curling tendrils. Her skeletonized wings spread behind her like white veins against the overcast sky. Elise followed the faerie’s downward gaze to the icon labeled “Dreamscape” on the lower left of the desktop and double-clicked it. The screen flashed once and went black. The steady dru...

      Elise sank down into her black leather executive swivel chair with a 20-ounce bottle of diet cream soda. She moved her wireless optical mouse to reveal her desktop wallpaper: a lone faerie, seated on a column, black skirt spread around her, with skeletonized wings like white veins against the overcast sky. Elise followed the faerie’s downward gaze to the icon labeled “Dreamscape” on the lower left of the desktop and double-clicked it. The scree...

      The footsteps receded from the hallway, leaving just me and Adrienne sitting on the bed. A vestige of the day’s tears lingered in the back of my throat. The darkness of the room surrounded us in its gentle embrace. To my right, the heavy plastic shade obscured the white glow of moonlight on the window frame. Everything was quiet at last.      “So, sweetie,” Adri asked, “where would you like to begin?”   ...

Originality: novel rearrangement of hackneyed words.

Originality: rearranging hackneyed words and notions.

Imagination nourished by reservoirs of disquiet.

They found him at twilight Hiding beneath the deck. They bound his hands and feet; Put a chain ’round his neck. They demanded from him Details they had to know: Questions Questions Questions On who had sent him. Oh - They forced him to answer. He would not break his vow. But, silence was something That they would not allow. They tightened his chains, yet They could not make him talk. They turned to other means: The flame, the whip, the rock. He withstood each torment And still refused to spea...

To the one who knows my heart I send my love And kisses manifold Across the sea of stars, Across the bounds of Time. I dream of the days of youthful glory Beneath our shady tree, Your arms holding me in a perfect embrace, Your lips kissing my tears away. I know not why they took you And cast you in confusion; I know not why they tested my undying love With a parade of imposters in your guise. Through the sting of every whip And every pitiless laugh, Through the suffocating solitude, And past ...

A gentle soul- she walks alone Upon a path of heartless stone In the Darkest Corner of the Earth, A place for sorrow and for mirth. “Cassandra whispered once to me That from my Corner I’d fly free- A rose among the Golden Race, But now her words have lost their grace. Where is the Golden Race?” she cries. Warm tears roll from her bright-lit eyes. She scans the path; what does she see? Mere phantoms- shadows of fantasy. In lulling tones the nightingale sings; Drops of wax from Icarus’s wings; ...