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An Uncivil Union: The Battle of Burnsville by Britt Kaufman
The following excerpt is from An Uncivil Union: The Battle of Burnsville. In April of 1864, forty Appalachian mountain women raided the Confederate storehouses in …
Long Division by Bonnie ZoBell
We could see Mr. Messick’s elephantitis though he wore a suit and tie every day to the sixth grade. Before lunch, wincing, he’d place the …
Ab initio by Janet Dale
Surrounded by darkness, the girl with hopeful eyes pressed ahead toward wavy lines shimmering in the narrow distance. Whirling and dancing, the lights reminded her …
Butterflies, Saskia by Corey Mesler
Butterflies, Saskia are hard to catch, your small legs leaping, your will are not sufficient. They fly, their silvery …
Traffic Jam, Butterfly by Joy Beshears
You flutter past my passenger-side window, bouncing through turbulence, wings luminous: a velvet Elvis under black light, collar glowing, satin lamb chops rising and falling …
Untitled by Curtis Dunlap
I sometimes think we are like a knotted pumpkin, or a twisted and misshapen bed of autumn squash, beautiful in our imperfections. …