Signal of Hope

By Ronie Kendig

Time to go! Dani hurried down the prison passage, glancing back to make sure the escape from her cell hadn't drawn attention. She slid up next to the guard's door and flattened her back against the wall. Pressing her sweaty palms against the cold stone, she squinted down the dark hall as if possible to see beyond the door where the villagers were being held. A commotion stirred inside the room. Sucking in her breath, Dani steadied herself. The guards had lodged their "Shoot first; don't ask questions ever," motto well into her heart when they killed the other engineers.

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I Gave Myself This Day

By Caren Stuart

After waking my husband at 5am sharp
so he could begin waking up,
after waking my husband at 6am sharp
so he could get into the shower,
after waking my son at 6:10, 6:20, 6:30am
and getting him dressed still in bed,
after seeing a waffle two times through the toaster,
cutting it up, administering syrup,
supervising the eating, milk drinking, vitamin taking,
after brushing two sets of teeth, two heads of hair,
locating, putting on, and tying four shoes,
after sorting dirty laundry, starting the wash,
straightening the sofa, dropping off son at school,
after walking the dog a mile and a half,
moving laundry to dryer, paying the bills,
I gave
myself
this day.

I served up a sliver of a slice of this day,
slipped a sinful spoonful of this day to myself,
and savored the tasty poem that was all that this day
ever could have wanted or ever could have been.
Before taking the laundry from the dryer
and hanging or folding it in closets, in drawers,
before driving to school and waiting in line,
picking child up and driving him home,
before deboning chicken, defrosting broccoli,
slicing, dicing, taking stock of the crock pot,
before scrubbing the toilet, dusting the bookcase,
vacuuming all of the ground floor wood floors,
before kissing my home-from-a-hard-day's-work-husband,
before hugging my ready-for-sleepy-time-son,
I gave
myself
this day.

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The Roach and I
By Kim Zachman

The word's gotten out that I'm a complete wimp. What other reason would there be for this robust roach to come fearlessly into my kitchen in broad daylight?

I was sitting at the table, sipping my coffee and arousing my brain on the Jumble puzzle in the paper. P*E*R*I*D. Maybe "diper"? Nah. That's when I notice him strolling across the floor.

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