By Jane Valencia, inspired by the song “Binwag’s Lullaby,” lyrics by Debra Knodel Once upon a time, a Bear King lived in a great forest hall in the north. During summer and the time of abundance, he had many visitors to his hall – Deer, Chickadee, Raccoon, and Red Fox to name a few who…
By Antoinette M. Levine Autumn reflects – natural release cycles – that encourage a wise willingness to let go. Nature’s seasonal guidance inspired Ms. Levine to pen this poem.
The baby screams in the house full of leftover turkey & stuffing, fries and pies potatoes mashed by another shrieker & his dad. Sleep settles into all the warm beds but mine. Awake as windows rattle I pen a poem. Stillness embraces all the others downstairs. Our dogs mumble in sleep, paws tapping. I imagine…
By Claudia Hollander-Lucas
By Yvonne Higgins Leach after Connie Wanek To stand tall but not in earthto survive in plastic and faucet waterto live for wearing colored lightsto ignore the four walls and no skyto show off ornaments and still be simpleto be evergreen and oxygen and holiday spiritto bless the one family who picked you. “Christmas Tree”…
By Jane Valencia On Thursdays, I head across the water to an Eastern Catholic church where I am learning how to write (paint) icons – sacred images in the Orthodox tradition considered to be “windows into heaven.” I also happen to love juvenile and young adult fiction. Imagine my delight when I found “Icon: A…
“The Heart of Vashon: Sharing Our Stories” is a lovingly written tribute to the Island. The stories were originally solicited for a community-building literary project of the same name spearheaded by Mary G. L. Shackelford and Shirley Ferris in 2015. The book may be purchased at the Vashon Heritage Museum, Vashon Bookshop, and Vashon Pharmacy….
By Seán Malone and John Sweetman As Seán remembers, Mom formed hats out of buckram, using the forms to glue Chinese pheasant feathers in, making a unique women’s hat. A full-grown male Chinese pheasant has a chest of iridescent, electric blue and brown feathers. Mom loved the colors, and would badger Dad and I to…
By Seán Malone and John Sweetman As John remembers: “He hit me!” “She was making faces at me!” “I was not!” “He was making fart noises with his armpit!” And so convened the daily district court of summary justice where the prosecutor, defense council, and detective agency was all in one. MOM! Mom interrupted her…