Stories

A poem about a fictional boy's journey.

Dogs are man's best friend. Can one stray change Adan's life?

Reflections of the past, realities of the present, and hopes for the future. These aren't prompts, and anything could wind up here, from poetry to monologues. It's all about words, and the forms they lead us to.

I'm not a poet, but hopefully through these prompts I'll learn to become one.

For some reason, Prompt 134 reminded me of a true encounter. With some license to make the story much more interesting.

In the east are monsters. In the north is the witch. In the south is the capital. To the west is the waste. The land is called Xin. Life has been nothing but cruel to the children soldiers Sumi and Harakin. They were not expected to survive as long as they have. In the north, a child with shadows ventures to the witch's lair. In the south, an organic mechanic is expelled from her guild.

How will these different individuals from a distant land connect to the events in Books One & Two? And what will happen with the monsters?

Larry was the son of a famous opera singer and a well-known conductor, but his passion in life was to be a medical scientist. However, when the pandemic waylaid his plans to go to the Bronx High School of Science, instead he applied to LaGuardia, New York's premier public high school of the arts. Just as an intermezzo is a short musical bridge, Intermezzo brings together characters from other stories in the New York Stories series while filling in some gaps. Told from the point of view of Larry's girlfriend, Robin, he learns that sometimes the shortest path to one's goals isn't the straightest one.

Cam Hudson and Eriq Bonville are best friends who play on their high school baseball team. Both seniors and dreaming about what comes next, they are confronted with the reality of how others treat people who don't have a good friend, like they do, or close family support. One of their teammates opens their eyes and they try to help, before it's too late.

Chandler Cross, a student at the Chicago Institute of Art, comes across someone new, one day. Someone very much in need of a mentor and a protector. The last thing Chandler ever thought he'd ever be was someone to be looked up to, but that is what he became. A guardian angel for a lost and broken boy, struggling as Chandler once struggled as a gay teen in a less than accepting world. How will he cope with this awesome responsibility now that he has Brandon . . .

We are promised that He will be found when we search for God. “If you seek him, he will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9) And we’re told there will be a great reward. What will Steven's search bring him?