Pushcart Prize Nominees
eMerge, the online literary magazine of the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow, is proud to announce its nominees for the Pushcart Prize.This edition of eMerge...
Rocky Road
Memory persists.Cracked crystal figurineschime against the wind.I lost her in the ice creamsoup of time and space.Memory persists.We are floating silk...
2020 Sunsets - January - Peace and Tranquility: Calm Before the Storm
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...
Tequila - 1964
(for Charles 'Doc' Hyatt)“Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy….”The Eastside Theater’s sound system was playing “Tequila," over and over again. The Champs hit...
Upon Reflecting
When I die, I want to become fall airAnd swish the leaves.When I go, I want to be everywhereThat I have grievedLeaving.When I go back, I want to tellAbout...
Shrimp Filé Gumbo
This recipe has never failed me and is incredibly forgiving. I’ve served it for more than 30 years to groups of college students as well as dozens of family...
Baggage: Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac
September 2017 Thirty thousand feet in the air, there is only one place to find privacy: the toilet. I slide the lock that turns on the light, sit down on...
We Are but Windows
We are not paintings with their permanence:We are but windows that frame a wide palette of seasons,transparent brushstrokes of rain and sun.We are not single...
I Mourn
I mourn the nurseries of yesteryear. They were everywhere in Arkansas, tucked away on country backroads, springing up in parking lots, laid out in folks’...
Almost Gone
"Last call," says the sun in its rusting voice,then leans to the west, sweetening its tuneby forgetting the melody.The taste of light lingers in the cold.One...
My Arkansas
In sickness and in healthWhat gifts remain?I again hear the birdsAnd feel the rainMy Arkansas rain thatI once knew
Broken Arrows and Broken Bows
The changes we make in the name of flood control.While ancestors push and gush, and will not be containedEven as their homes, shacks to begin with, collapse...
2020 Sunsets - February - Passion and Love
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...
Burlap String Theory
You can’tSeeThe connectionWith the seaGreenTrainingFor the cop in your headThe queryOf yourNeedFor nowShortCircuitedListen for furYour nudeIn the...
My Red Shoes
Even on our black and white television I could see Dorothy’s red shoes, dazzling, and I wanted some. I’d dance down the yellow brick road, sashaying with the...
Encounter
This one depicts the concept of two very different magical beings - an elf princess and a winged fairy - encountering one another for the very first time,...
Drinking Alone
When the sound of laughter stopsAnd the frolicking shadows shimmerI ask the walls to call my nameThe faded hum of my daydream saysI must drink alone...
A January Warmth
A fox came to my dooron a cold January nightand I opened it and wavedhim in But he stayed outsideSo I left it open and placedfood and drink just insideBut he...
Moonshine
Jim wrestled the steering wheel of the rusted Ford pickup as the truck bounced down the dirt road leading to the levee. Since their father went to Korea it...
First Visit to Eureka
Ancient geologic benchesback to steep-sided hills.Tenacious homes perchamong persistent springsof healing waters.Softly lit fog swirlsamid Fall’s tapestry...