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…breathe deeply and often…

  • Peace Escaped

    Peace escaped.  Bound to sadness and pain.  Even the doves that brought peace and tranquility had given up hope and moved on. There were other souls to save, and time was of essence. There was only so much with which a human could cope, a wreath of laurel leaves and  branches, another burden to bear

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  • My Commandments

    My personal commandments are not religious, but they have a spiritual ring to them, I suppose. They are today’s commandments. I may change my mind somewhere down the road. I know they would have been different before I had children. The crone is evolving,       5.   Be creative. Make life interesting.       6.   Smile more.

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  • Believe it or not, the eighty year old cash register on the hutch still worked. Yeah, it needed cleaning up and oiled real good, but the buttons pushed down and the metal tabs inside the windows popped up to tell you how much it was going to cost, up to ten dollars. The barbershop didn’t

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  • Idle Hands

    “Keep your hands busy and the hours will pass like minutes,” she said while she pulled the  needle up through the fabric. “Don’t let your mind dwell on the world around you. Focus inside yourself. Focus on that which you create. The blanket with the yarn, the dress with the fabric, the stories with the

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  • “Spiders, Flies, and Coffee” a Quirky Flash Fiction Piece by Devonne Brown Published in Chewers and Masticadores, April 29, 2025

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  • Your eyes filled with tears-Why didn’t you let me help?Well, you never asked.Can I come as well?I’m bouncing from foot to foot.Well, you never asked.Why don’t you join meSwinging arms, walking, skipping?Well, you never asked. Well, you never asked….is a statement about you or me. I could make it all about me, or all about

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  • Longing: 2 Haiku

    Longing: 1 HaikuClosing my eyes andWanting what hasn’t been gainedSmiling wistfullyLonging: 2 HaikuSpending time aloneI rub my hand o’r my heartA weight in my chest

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  • I suppose the Appalachian tradition of giving kids weird names, Stanley Hugo,  Ervin Otto, or even Oral Homer was part and parcel of growing up in the isolation of the hollers. I was the last of the kids to get a holler name before we moved out to the suburbs, I suppose.My brother got stuck

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  • Report Card

    My son is judging me. If he were to give me a report card it would be  how long do I stay awake when I come home from school,  how much time do I spend writing,  how often and well do I cook for him,  how clean do I keep my room, how clean do

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  • Norris heard the rustling in the living room last night before I did. Thinking the worst, he leapt out of bed, and snagged my cheek with his back claw, narrowly missing my eye. Blood poured from the gash he left. There would be a scar. Dammit Norris. While he hotfooted it to the stirring in

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  • The Last Sunday

    The Last Sunday of Summer Today is the last Sunday of summer. I go back to school tomorrow. A whole new ride starts. I didn’t think about it until yesterday. God, I hate giving up summer.  I became a writer this summer. Being a writer gives you permission to stay home and write. In fact, Read more

  • Funding

    “Thank you, Ms. Parsons.” I handed the officer my drivers’ license and registration as the window rolled down. I swear I came to a full stop at the stop sign. He read my name from the license and smiled at me. I wondered if he thought I looked like a criminal. My black car was Read more

  • Garden Success

    All gardens need a boy. Read more

  • Soccer Mom

    Soccer Mom “When someone makes a goal, click this button and record the time here and the kid’s number here,” said Linda, the coach. She was pointing to two columns on an Excel Spreadsheet on one of those coach’s clipboards with the secret compartments.  “They’re six, Linda, why do we need a spreadsheet?”  I think Read more

  • Summer Days

    Summer Days People ask me how I spend my summers. I have few human relatives near me, so Norris, Madam, and Opal Pearl are the immediate family. The true answer is I spend my summers doing whatever I want. I met two and a half goals this summer, and I rarely set goals. The first Read more

  • Collections

    Collections Inventory Dishes Antique furniture My journals Cats 2 Dog 1 Twins Lotsa boys Almost two books Two published things I’m in a writer’s permutation of life at the moment. I collect books about writing and writing advice. I have writing friends and their books. I go to writing conferences and groups. I write blogs, Read more

  • Peace Escaped

    Peace escaped.  Bound to sadness and pain.  Even the doves that brought peace and tranquility had given up hope and moved on. There were other souls to save, and time was of essence. There was only so much with which a human could cope, a wreath of laurel leaves and  branches, another burden to bear

    Read more

  • My Commandments

    My personal commandments are not religious, but they have a spiritual ring to them, I suppose. They are today’s commandments. I may change my mind somewhere down the road. I know they would have been different before I had children. The crone is evolving,       5.   Be creative. Make life interesting.       6.   Smile more.

    Read more

  • Believe it or not, the eighty year old cash register on the hutch still worked. Yeah, it needed cleaning up and oiled real good, but the buttons pushed down and the metal tabs inside the windows popped up to tell you how much it was going to cost, up to ten dollars. The barbershop didn’t

    Read more

  • Idle Hands

    “Keep your hands busy and the hours will pass like minutes,” she said while she pulled the  needle up through the fabric. “Don’t let your mind dwell on the world around you. Focus inside yourself. Focus on that which you create. The blanket with the yarn, the dress with the fabric, the stories with the

    Read more

  • “Spiders, Flies, and Coffee” a Quirky Flash Fiction Piece by Devonne Brown Published in Chewers and Masticadores, April 29, 2025

    Read more

  • Your eyes filled with tears-Why didn’t you let me help?Well, you never asked.Can I come as well?I’m bouncing from foot to foot.Well, you never asked.Why don’t you join meSwinging arms, walking, skipping?Well, you never asked. Well, you never asked….is a statement about you or me. I could make it all about me, or all about

    Read more

  • Longing: 2 Haiku

    Longing: 1 HaikuClosing my eyes andWanting what hasn’t been gainedSmiling wistfullyLonging: 2 HaikuSpending time aloneI rub my hand o’r my heartA weight in my chest

    Read more

  • I suppose the Appalachian tradition of giving kids weird names, Stanley Hugo,  Ervin Otto, or even Oral Homer was part and parcel of growing up in the isolation of the hollers. I was the last of the kids to get a holler name before we moved out to the suburbs, I suppose.My brother got stuck

    Read more

  • Report Card

    My son is judging me. If he were to give me a report card it would be  how long do I stay awake when I come home from school,  how much time do I spend writing,  how often and well do I cook for him,  how clean do I keep my room, how clean do

    Read more

  • Norris heard the rustling in the living room last night before I did. Thinking the worst, he leapt out of bed, and snagged my cheek with his back claw, narrowly missing my eye. Blood poured from the gash he left. There would be a scar. Dammit Norris. While he hotfooted it to the stirring in

    Read more


  • The Owner

    “It’s never been about what you can’t do, it’s about what you won’t do,” said Jack at the vending machine. He was buying a Snickers bar. “You’re very capable, but if you don’t want to do something, it just doesn’t happen.” He completed his purchase. “Is that a compliment or a criticism?” asked Maggie. She…

  • The Cad

    He looked at her over his arm, wondering what he could get from her. He had good looks and knew how to use them on marginally pretty women. She was smart but not a handsome woman. In a crowd, she blended in, fitted in, disappeared. She’d be perfect. He would make her laugh, feel special,…

  • Superpower: Shapeshifter

    I am still in awe and disbelief. I changed in the span of five minutes one December morning.  I left home one day as a single human being and returned as a mama possum with two babies hanging in my fur. It was just going to be that way.  I became a Shapeshifter. I had…

  • Bellview Baptist Church

    When the Bellview choir sang the old gospel spiritual, it was so powerful it blistered the paint on the walls, Sister Eloise sang with such feeling. When she cut loose on I’ll Fly Away the top of the sanctuary lifted a good six inches up off the walls of the building. The whole house of…

  • Cassandra

    “I don’t think it’s right. I can’t get it lined up perfectly,” said Cassandra.  “Perfection isn’t what you’re after, it’s the mood, the tone. Melancholy doesn’t follow straight lines. You want the fluidity of a blue satin skirt,” said Serena. “Let one movement flow into the other, and don’t be rigid.” “I am not from…