Short story from Jim Meirose

Count down the fall

Falling There lurks still fall---fall! 
And—it keep on to where it stops. 
Out fr’ dunder-dee clouditry.
Really? How come?        
whack       
D’ deh kwyte vertrical roarozontinal fast falling nature of these spouse’s present.
whack
(  ) whoooooooooo down past—Top-mayor there?
Where it folds under itself down as far as it can and because’s where you’re fell to.
137 {milliseconds into the fall} nd down in this here clear air no  don’t  look    down (             ) the wind 133 {seconds into the fall} past—log pole’s t-phone factory? Scrappo’s? Did’st thou say—Skrappo’? (                 ) of the earsplitting kind?                            pantography                 Human nature to just keep on same but; all’d gone and all fall.                                 128 125 {milliseconds into the fall} Fling! Fly! Pop! Back! Catch! Squeak! Step! Fling! Fly! Pop! Back! Catch! Squeak! Step! Fling! Fly! Pop! Bac—
Wow!
Isn’t this game great, great fun?
Yes it’s fun!
—k! Catch! Squeak! St—! Fl’ g’ y’ ss’ is’s—the end—the end—could the end be—really really near? Hot hickory [pillo]       Hot hickory           [pillo]   105 100 {milliseconds into the fall}   there be pillows arranged all out for the falling?      There be pillows arranged for the out falling out?     [pillo]         It bends under its ‘neath and all’s gone and all fall.     All stop looking ahead. Human nature.       95 93 91 89 80  {milliseconds into the fall}     I trust them they got brains they won’t let that ug uckily happen          where on Earth are we destined for      That is what happened to this town you know.                          75    69        60 {milliseconds into the fall}   [pillo]   stormbushery’s roll’d over after all floods    Pop Cubanore? This that b’ Pop Cubanore?   45 40 {milliseconds into the fall}  hast not never seen my Pop Cubanore to dis day  [pillo] why you do dis to me Gimi  [why you do dis {pillo} to me]  eh? Why shmush up me birdhouse, Gimi? Cab Krackelefish’d fer tunas just like deep down off that picture see Gimi      just like deep down off that * esh?*    This council.  whack    where on Earth are we destined for        b b b      where on Earth are we destined for    That’s you.         35 22 22 {milliseconds into the fall}    Pop Cubanore? This that b’ Pop Cubanore?     upcmpashoosh this here tablesplat so; prepare 20 17 15  Why shmush up me nice l’il birdhouse Gimi? Fling! Fly! Pop! Back! Catch! Squeak! Step! Fling! Fly! Pop! Back! Catch! Squeak! Step! Fling! Fly! Pop! Bac—
Wow!
Isn’t this game great, great fun?
Yes it’s fun!
—k! Catch! Squeak! St—! Fl’ g’ y’ ss’ please promptly prepare thy d-d-daily 10’s, {milliseconds into the fall}  8’s, {milliseconds into the fall}  7’s, {milliseconds into the fall}  and 5’s {milliseconds into the fall}  “suh”, prepare thy whatever soooooooo splat  hast not never seen my Pop Cubanore to dis day whack whack whack 
You stopped watching what’s coming. 
SPLAT! SPLATTER


Poetry from Mark Young

Trapezoid lunch pails

Never thought there’d be such

variety. All spacious enough to fit

two sleepers, a linguistic search

engine, & several large-sample

latent-variable structural equ-

ation models. Now all I need is

a sports car with a big enough

boot to keep a mid-life crisis in.

suffering solenoids

After rebuilding my bongo,

dry patches appeared on the

once-lush lawn. That’s an

ongoing flaw in poppet de-

signs based on a mother’s

behavior. We often suffer.

KUWTK

Such attitudes are not always

apparent; but the Scottish position

at the Glasgow Conference on

climate change was that vision

of a car driven by a 76-year-old

woman who mistook the gas

pedal for the brake & plunged

into the waters of an obviously

chilly Loch Lomond was actually

shot on a tropical Caribbean island.

audience / ordinance

Capote is dead, a process often

favored by humans. We will

all need to adjust to reap the

benefits. Carbohydrate is in-

creasingly vital, as is prevent-

ing the introduction of foxes to

new areas. Ensure good light.

Insularity is a wasting disease.

statements like individual faces


The premise that the
disciplines of religious

studies are owner-occu-

pied by Taylor Swift is

a redundantly coded
attempt to explain away

any dormitory party
whose theme is structured
around a hypertensive rat.

Poetry from Noel Pratt

The creek runs behind

my house so regardless of

my underuse and

has come to disrespect my

distress with tall leggy weeds

____

Feasting flurries come
lordless and scintillant,

picking clean

____

Scream you ever and long
from earth no reply but

echoes feel right or wrong

____



Presence and a knot --

design intimidates but 
this strand inviting
________

It gave a gurgling gasp.
 

It would be I purported to have done that … as anyone might. My ground I stood. Yes, I remember.

 

I knew in my current state that the now silent apparition did not beseech; it was only ending my life by mocking the beginning of my death. It had no more to say.

 

Well, now. Hadn't I always said, Death, when it comes, is bound to find me cooperative? The old man that I was began to affect something like a fit of the ague and at last to summon a ghastly utterance of his own, but—

 

And this, dear reader, brings us to present.



~~~~~

Noel Pratt is an editor and writer who finally had it and moved to the country. Most of his schooling has been in theology and theatre, each equally marketable. Pratt also spent time in India and lived to take a fiction-writing course at Santa Monica College.

Poetry from Wazed Abdullah

Young South Asian boy with short black hair and a light blue collared shirt.
Wazed Abdullah

Mobile Phone
 
In hand it rests, a portal bright, 
With every tap, it brings delight. 
Sent, calls so clear, 
The mobile phone, our modern seer. 
From dawn to dusk, it never tires, 
Connecting us with all desires. 
In a frame, a world's embrace, 
Our mobile phone, a magic space.

Wazed Abdullah is a student of grade nine in Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh.

Story from Nahyean Bin Khalid

Young South Asian teen boy with short brown hair and a white collared school uniform tee shirt.
Nahyean Bin Khalid

                                     Part 1: The Heist

In the dark alleys of the city, two figures walked quickly, their steps quiet on the sidewalk. One was Max, a notorious criminal known for his slick moves and silver tongue. The other was Detective John Reynolds, a seasoned cop who was well-liked for his intellect and toughness.

Max grimaced as he opened the jewelry store door and disabled the alarm. “This is going to be easy,” he said to himself.

Reynolds watched Max from a distance, narrowing his eyes as he waited for the moment to strike. He had been keeping an eye on Max for weeks. As Max slipped inside, Reynolds radioed for backup and followed suit, slipping quietly into the store.

Nahyean Bin Khalid is a student of grade eight in Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh.

Poetry from Nosirova Gavhar

Central Asian teen girl with straight dark long hair, brown eyes, a blue collared shirt and her head in her hand.
Nosirova Gavhar

Medina

Today Medina is summoning me,
My heart is filled with joy and pleasure
There is real treasure in it,
Good luck going to Kaba.

Today Medina is summoning me,
My heart is filled with the light of faith.
I set out today,
I want to be like an angel.

Today Medina is summoning me,
I thanked God.
My dream is to be a singer of Koran
I begged Arshi in a whisper.

Today Medina is summoning me,
Delivered, blessed Kaba,
I bowed again in silence,
I thanked God.

Nosirova Gavhar was born on August 16, 2000 in the city of Shahrisabz, Kashkadarya region of Uzbekistan. Today, she is a third-year student of the Faculty of Philology of the Samarkand State University of Uzbekistan. Being a lover of literature, she is engaged in writing stories and poems. Her creative works have been published in Uzbek and English. In addition, she is a member of «All India Council for Development of Technical Skills», «Juntos por las letras» of Argentina, «2DSA Global Community». Winner of the «Korabl znaniy» and «Talenty Rossii» contests, holder of the international C1 level in the Russian language, Global Education ambassador of Wisdom University and global coordinator of the Iqra Foundation in Uzbekistan. «Magic pen holders» talented young group of Uzbekistan, «Kayva Kishor», «Friendship of people», «Raven Cage», «The Daily Global Nation», Argentina's «Multi Art-6», Kenya&;s «Serenity: A compilation of art and literature by women» contains creative works in the magazine and anthology of poets and writers.

Poetry from Muntasir Mamun Kiron

Young South Asian preteen boy in a white shirt school uniform and with short brown hair.
Muntasir Mamun Kiron

Winter

In winter's embrace, the world does sleep,
Beneath a blanket of snow, soft and deep.
A quiet hush descends, a gentle sigh,
As nature rests beneath the cold, clear sky.

The air is crisp, with a chill so pure,
Yet within it, there's a beauty to endure.
Frost-kissed branches gleam in the light,
A shimmering wonder, a breathtaking sight.

The earth lies still, in peaceful repose,
As if wrapped in a tranquil, icy prose.
But within this silence, life does thrive,
In hidden places, where creatures survive.

From the warmth of burrows, to the sky above,
Winter weaves a tale of resilience and love.
For even in the coldest of nights,
There's a flicker of hope, a beacon of lights.

So let us cherish this season's grace,
As we journey through its frosty embrace.
For in winter's chill, we find our way,
To the warmth of home, where hearts will stay. 

Muntasir Mamun Kiron is a student of grade 10 in Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh.