Saying Goodbye to Gold Castle
Memoryland, as far as my eye can see, spread out on tables in front of my Mama’s house under the dappled shadows of a sunny day. Inside the house, the...
Pushcart Nominees for 2022
eMerge, the online literary magazine of the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow, is proud to announce its 2021 nominees for the Pushcart Prize.These pieces were...
Issue 13: Winter 2022
Dear Friends of eMerge, Happy 2022! I am thrilled to put the first issue of the year in your (digital) hands. eMerge continues to grow and reach readers all...
Bare Back Riding
As an eleven-year-old living in Southern California I had idealized my previous rural life outside of Conway even though at the time of that first Arkansas...
Jake
My old high school coachCouched all his admonitionsRegarding clock and on-field crisis-management(Both very serious business beneath Friday night lights)In...
2020 Sunsets -October - “Color My World with Hope”
Introduction: The ‘stay at home’ regimen of 2020 due to the pandemic had many down sides, but it did have one upside for myself. Staying at home gave me the...
Good Bones
It sprang at me from behind thick vines tangled in trees that rose into the thickening fog. I braked, mesmerized by the limited view, and ticked off the...
Birthday of the Unknown
I don’t know youbut your birthdayis being celebratedat the table acrossfrom mine That’sgood enough for meI want to join incelebrating yourbirthday your...
Late Night Walk–1967
She walked through the dark city streets at midnight, feeling safe. She saw no cars, no other pedestrians. The college town was hers as she headed from her...
Piano Lessons
I wish I stuck with my piano lessons.Instead I ran around like a wolf child.I wish I had practiced my arpeggios.Instead of sculpting mud forts with my...
Sorting
The women knew riverslike beans.The water rushesover colored beadsand trinketssorting, polishinguntilthey are clean.For eating, for drinking,for bathing,or...
The Rain Returns
The rain returnsand keeps it promisesuntil it overflows them.Gullets run down hills,layers of rock turning to sandand slant, swept spider websout to the sea...
Dragon Ride
This one was done for fun. It is one of our grandsons depicted riding a dragon. He has always liked dragon movies. I painted the dragon with blue fur and...
The Noble Animal*
(This short ten-minute play was written in 2016 for the Five and Dime Drama Collective in Eureka Springs, AR. Jocelyn Morelli played the part of the Police...
Death Sonnets
IEveryone gets a poet or a parrot to sit on their shoulders - Ruth DickeyThe night you died was a season I couldn’t place,in some vague, half-remembered...
2020 Sunsets -November - “Changing Seasons and Life Goes On”
Introduction: The ‘stay at home’ regimen of 2020 due to the pandemic had many down sides, but it did have one upside for myself. Staying at home gave me the...
LOVE (Unexpectedly)
She always played her musicwayy too loud and whendrinking would smoke twocigarettes and she hadtwo kids at home that hermom was watching butcould she ever...
How To Deal After A Disturbingly Idyllic Breakup
Create a space for itbetween the marigolds andthe moonflowers in your window box,those succulents that went out ofseason, and right catty-cornerto that old...
German-Style Beef, Beets, and Noodle Bowl
Ingredients:1-1/2 to 2 lb beef roast1 package beef onion soup mix1 bottle German-style beer, ale, or porter plus 1 bottle of water4 oz dry egg noodles2 large...
The Blossoms
perform pacestagger stepsbombs of lusterwhisper sadly“yesterday, oh wherehas youth gone”illumination searchesin darknessfor what once washoping fortunewill...