by Charity Chapman

Smooth gospel tunes flow from the screen,
my head perks, peach ears twitching as the
sounds flow in.  I pull up one white paw
from the couch, a claw escaping from
the material with a light pop. 

There isn't much to a cat's life,
but sleeping, eating, drinking and
the occasional outing with the lovely
Juliet, with tufts of gray and white,
which flow swiftly in the breeze. 

However, I would not change my life
for the world, for sometimes the simplest
of things are life's most precious gifts. 

Congratulations, Olivia, for completing your first novel! I call that a first year out of college well-spent! -- Hayley

by: Charity Chapman


As I lean upon the balcony
of this castle from long ago,
I watch the moon's light as
it shimmers down below.

I was just sitting here writing, or rather staring at the screen with a case of (fiction) writer's block, and decided to look through my notes from lit fest for inspiration. Instead of finding fiction inspiration, I wrote a poem about Rita Dove's lecture. Whatever works!

From the Mouths of Doves
By: Kacy Thacker Lovelace

“Act to serve,” “romance
That stone,” girl. “No Excuses” from the mouths
Of birds, of Doves. “Pull
Meaning out” and “Be
Receptive:” to the words,
To the tones, to the subtle
Shift of mood.

“Use your pitfalls,” “your
Roadblocks,” Send “I”
To the shadows, though
It lurks, waits, to spring
Upon the mind,
Doors open wide to take
It all in: the words,
The tones, the shifting
Atmosphere of us.