The Curse Of Forest Mother

Muma is crying like a child while we are watching the river runs red and dead. The hills above us are crumbling away into the deep, giant sinkholes. The ancient forests are cut down or burned. Muma's hand is so cold, her body is trembling like a leaf. Muma's lips are motionless but I can hear her silent curse…

Now I understand the meaning of those untold words and feel the real wonder and power of her inner voice. The end is near because we are human and humans must be punished for all crimes against our dear Mother Nature.

From Guest Contributor Ivan Ristic

Leaving Home

When he slammed the door, he did not say goodbye. He just left. He left the house, the street, the small town, all the narrow-mindedness he had endured for eighteen years. No one was going to tell him what to do or what to believe.

He boarded the train, and soon he was in boot camp. Then he was a full-fledged soldier. He had enough anger inside to slay the enemy. Before long he was on a troop ship, and then in the forests of France where he began to miss the town where he grew up.

It was 1942.

From Guest Contributor Anita G. Gorman

The Agony Of Farmland

Ellie drove while I fiddled with the radio. Neither of us spoke. It had been that way for an hour now. I wasn't angry like before and I was hoping she'd apologize so I could say it was okay. But then she'd sigh in that petulant way and my anger would resurface. There was no way I'd be the first to give in again.

The silence stretched on as the highway grew flatter and the forests were replaced by farmland. She'd better apologize before we reached my parents'. They'd probably side with her like they've done with all my exes.