Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

To A Friend Opening a Crematorium Bill

“It turns out, it’s expensive to die,”
You say.
And I picture you,
half in shadow,
reading price lists like hymns,
offering fire as mercy
to your wife,
who can no longer afford
to lie still in peace.

They’ve monetized ...

Performed by Val Cole

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BIG YELLOW TAXI

What you do to me is expensive to my body and
brain, like going on a shopping spree and then
not being able to pay for it Turning and
turning on my pillow until I just can’t
turn anymore and morning comes
too quickly. Are these bags under
my eyes wor...

Adriane P. Reesey

aGREED RuiNATION

contracts signed in clean rooms
ink dries while something else erodes
buildings rise as the footing gives
doors open for some, close on others
numbers climb while something fails

An overwhelmed professional flees her rigid routine for the sanctuary of a park, only to be drawn into a surreal, time-bending world where she must confront her subconscious to reclaim her authentic voice

Performed by Val Cole

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Get to know the writer:

1. What is your short story about?...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

Another Rain-Soaked Love Letter
By
Thomas Koron

As I walked on through an endless downpour,
Across the dark street, the pouring rain swept.
It had been days since the last time I slept—
Wondering if you loved me anymore.

Once I made it home, I unlocked the door...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

Return to the Den

I’m sorry I came at you like a wolf,
spit flying from my curled back lips,
teeth bared as I spat my grievances
in your direction.

Whether real or perceived,
I see now,
these obstacles I faced,
they were mine to contend with.

After all, how ...

Performed by Val Cole

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Submit your short story to the festival: https://festivalforhorror.com/horror-short-story/

Poetry by Val Cole

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POEM:

Ballad of Veronica

You fixed the pipes and mended bikes,
swept dust before the dawn;
jackfruit smoked upon the fire,
the kettle always on.

You raised a daughter through the war,
through jungle dark and town laid down;
and sometimes, when the nights grew long,
we as...

Performed by Val Cole

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Submit your short story to the festival: https://crimemysteryfestival.com/mystery-short-story/

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

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Submit your MEMOIR short story to the festival: https://documentaryshortfilmfestival.com/memoir-autobiography-short-story-festival/

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

Nature
By Alison Angel Javens

Nature-
You create
We copy
Elsa pareti
Hearts for
Tiffany
Tripping dripping
Glimmering
Gotcha

Go

open wide
Breath
See with
eyes
Wide open
Look
Down
under
Up and over

Diamonds
Squares
Triangles pairs
Comfy
In the womb
Mother Eart...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

Rapids

By Alison Angel Javens

The rapids of life

A craggily creek
A rambling river

Rolling us along
Swiftly
Or snail paced
Or not at all

The rapids of life

Water
turns and churns
Like my insides which
Burn and yearn

Oh when will I learn to
Glide not be d...

Poetry by Luke Paranjpe

Produced by Matthew Toffolo

Editor & Visual Design: Adam Bilyea

Performed by Val Cole

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Submit your short story to the festival: https://storypitches.wordpress.com/religion-spirituality-short-story-festival/

Performed by Val Cole

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Submit your short story to the festival; https://femalefilmfestival.com/female-writers-short-story-festival/

Performed by Val Cole

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Anger of a Kind

Anger of a kind
rests in the contours
of our palms,
inexpressible

Anger of a kind
with clenched fist
demands hearing of
why & wherefores
to this satiated life

Anger of a kind
bleeds from open wounds
& wombs, distended
bellies, machine-gunned childr...

Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your short story about?

A biomythographical experience as a teenager... doing my best to come to terms with my identity and desires during a time when being closeted was an absolute necessity in the 1970s. I describe the experience of ...

Performed by Val Cole

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In Neglect

Can I fit into your box?
Will you let me in?
I can contort myself, I’m quite the performer— I’ve always been good at this.

Watch as I bend! Move! Twist and sit!
It looks unorthodox as I bend.

move.

twist.

sit.

Yet my comfort is found residing withi...

Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your short story about?

Kindness. "Gentilezza" is the Italian word for kindness. It's the story of how a simple, selfless gift to another person can change their life permanently. The story straddles the boundary of fiction and creati...

Poem by Val Cole

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POEM:

Cold Side of the Bed

Loneliness is the cold side of the bed –
the indent where you used to lay,
the smell of your perfume
preserved,

as though you’d come back any second
with a “see you later,”
not the goodbye you never said.

All the words left on read,
and all I...

Performed by Val Cole

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POEM:

The death winter came and was deep
With white on the purple mountain
The Tiwahe’ 'Standing Rock People'
Begged for warm fires from Iktinie the Sun Spirit
Our mouths were hungry and bodies were weak

Iya’ the Snow Monster had taken us farther to the south
To foll...

Performed by Val Cole

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Get to know the poem:

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The theme is about ICE detentions specifically those that transpired in Minneapolis.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

I was motivated to write this poem to shed light on the gross injustice ...

Performed by Val Cole

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Submit your Short Story to the festival: https://crimemysteryfestival.com/mystery-short-story/