The Stalk Exchange
If I had started the story, ‘once upon a time’ it might have given me more leeway with the […]
When It’s Time For You To Go
When it’s time for you to go, Don’t turn and wave, Instead, Consider this, If there should be a blessed […]
The Day I Heard The News
The day I heard the news, The World didn’t end – at least not that day. Instead the sky grew […]
HOPE
H old O n, P ain E nds H ave O nly P ositive E xpectations H appiness […]
Waiting For The Winds To Blow
I’m waiting for the winds to blow, And someday soon, or later, They’ll take me on a voyage, To a […]
Today Is Going To Be A Great Day
“Today is going to be a great day,” said the little boy Whose mother unexpectedly opened her eyes Today is […]
Rest
I know you’re tired of that twisted road, Tired of climbing those hills, Tired of getting to the top of […]
What Are You Saving Yourself For?
You hesitate to say hello – To that girl or boy, To the stranger needing help, You think twice about […]
I Am So Proud Of You
I am so proud of you, In so many ways, Proud of every sinew in your strained body, Proud, […]
The Stars Want Her Back
When I first got to know her, She was fully formed. A woman with life, and humour and Dreams. And […]
To Fill A Human Heart
To fill a human soul, Takes strength and smiles, To fill a human head, Takes wisdom and time, To fill […]
My Favourite Thought
You are my favourite thought, favourite smile, favourite life, You’re my first thing in the morning and my last thing […]
Zoot and Sandy and The Universe
Sandy the elephant and Zoot the dog were, without doubt, the best of pals in the whole wide world. They […]
She Carries A ‘Phone
When she was a child, she carried the ‘phone to let her mother know where she was. ‘Oh mum, I’m […]
Four Shots of Wry
Breathless ….if she had looked up at that moment, his nurse would have seen his toes moving in waltz time […]
Painted Love
When the flowers had all but disappeared from Clare’s garden, she had replaced them by painting roses and daffodils on […]
The Word Hooker
It was the strangest of times. The world was full, as were other worlds, of course, but the old one, […]
Martha’s Room
Martha had a room, one that she would refer to as a ‘spare room’. Not that the size of her […]
Just ‘Cause You’re Breathing Doesn’t Mean You’re Alive
Just ‘cause you’re breathing, Doesn’t mean you’re alive, Just ‘cause you’re clever, Doesn’t mean that you’re wise, Just ‘cause you’ve […]
A Brilliant Life
(I am happy to inform you that your piece, ‘A Brilliant Life’, has been selected for a community reading group […]
Me and Buzz and Drivin’
When Buzz was about ten years old, he stole my Daddy’s car. One minute he was askin’ me where the […]
Writing
No one I know ever really picks writing, As a sane thing to do with their lives, It waits in […]
A House
I hear tell that the house is still there, still standing like. Leastways I heard that was the truth of […]
The Dancers
When they were about five years old, she stumbled as they danced to the Christmas music playing on the old […]
Ronnie (Feb 12th)
I guess you never really know when your own will start but in hindsight I know his began on February […]
Stand Up To Cancer
No one will stand by your grave and weep Nor will they talk of long-lost friends No one will raise […]
Peter Rabbit
He remembers one night – when Peter was about twelve summers old – that he and his best friend were […]
The Ice Ghosts
based on a true story She could taste the sea on her lips as she drove her Hudson Super […]
Amy and Hector
There are two people in this story – as well as Hector. Hector’s the elephant. The little girl is Amy, […]
Wee Kenneth’s Dating Agency
( a story not too far from the truth) Kenneth was knee-high to the rest of the world. Not that […]
Lanterns
Don’t think that all of this will last, As the darkness wears your heart away, One day, Someday, When you […]
Once, This Was Our Land
Once, this was our land, Where we ran the highest peaks and held the very sky inside our palms. Once, […]
Once in a Blue Moon
Strange things happen to nice people. There I’ve said it, but it don’t make it any less true, friends. I […]
Enough Sunshine For Everyone
That summer, that sultry humid one, in ’46 was the hottest on record. She still remembers it. How could she […]
Lincoln’s Watch
I’d been working in Washington D.C. for a few weeks in the late fall of 1947 when I decided to […]
KILLER!
She liked to call him ‘Joseph’, that way he seemed a bit more human. It was her turn tonight to […]
…breath-taking…..
…if she had looked up at that moment, his nurse would have seen his toes moving in waltz time to […]
Be Different
Story written for a charity. Every one of us is made just that little bit different to the next person. […]
No Two Ways
I guess the first thing I’ve got to say is – to do the things he did, you really have […]
Grandpa is An Alien
If you asked the Melt family in public where they came from, then they’d always answer with: ‘Why, Churchill Avenue […]
1966 – A Summer Breeze
Tommy was tired of waiting for his life to start. He had given it more than enough chances in his […]
That Perfect Moment
When I was a kid, my whole world was Hell’s Kitchen. Heck, it was my whole universe too – because […]
Zoot & Sandy and the Birds
As always, Sandy the elephant and Zoot the dog were the best of pals in the whole wide world […]
The Miracle of West Culpepper
In those days, the Blue Ridge Mountains were another world. Very few folks had automobiles back then and the trains […]
Skiing In Central Park
I don’t think there was a precise time when you could say that they actually met; instead it would be […]
Me and Buzz and The Beard
I kinda wish someone had warned me about the day that Buzz decided to grow a beard. I met him […]
The House of Laughter and Crying
Now I ain’t saying this story is true, but I ain’t saying it’s a lie neither – mainly ‘cause I […]
UR : RU?
U R Loved. R U Loving? U R Hope R U Hoping? U R Life R U Living? U […]
Murder at the Mermaid Inn
He had just bent down to tie his shoes laces and this is what probably caused him to disappear […]
Great Aunt Bessie Played the Trombone
My great Aunt Bessie played the trombone. That’s the beginning and end of it. Although when I was a kid, […]
How Could You Be Anything Other Than Beautiful?
So you’re not as thin, nor as fat as you wanted to be, Or as tall, or as short, or […]
While I Was Out Walking
Sometime while I was out walking, the wind changed, No longer at my back with my face always towards the […]
The Disappearance of Esther
The wind couldn’t decide which way it was going that day, neither could she. Esther had only just got herself […]
Seventy Times Around The Sun
“Nothing is stranger or more ticklish than a relationship between people who know each other only by sight, who meet […]
Dirty River Mansions: Jeremiah’s Story
His house was the furthest from the river and it did Jeremiah good to know it was so. “I hate […]
The Man From Montana
It was on a mild Spring Thursday morning when it happened. No church bells, or fireworks, or even a spontaneous […]
The Girl In The Corner
Once upon a time she had been called Chiquitta, and once upon a time there had been a family in […]
You Think You Have Time
You think you have time, To be annoyed, or to be angry, To not speak, or not call. You think […]
A True Story That Hasn’t Happened Yet
Friday 10th July Maybe I should start at the very beginning then perhaps if someone finds this, it will […]
Sara: The Woman Who Told Stories
She felt that she had never set the world on fire; unlike the politicians who had managed just that. No, […]
The Montana Express
The Montana Express was a wind that found its temperature somewhere around the northern end of Canada and then didn’t […]
Future Stories
Her Stories Stories. That was all she had, that was all she would ever have. The ability to create worlds, […]
The Proof of God
He could do nothing but stare at the paper. Then he re-checked it and checked it again. He was trembling. […]
Lahti, Finland
The Midnight sun seared the ice-cracked streets. He sat drinking a Finnish beer and watching the old vintage cars making […]
The Titanic in New York City – Julia’s Story
Wednesday April 17th, 1912 Pier 60. NY,NY. Her name was simply, Julia Edinburgh – not doctor and not professor; she […]
Thing and His Song
Thing was never going to sing at the Paris Opera but that wasn’t the point; he sang because he liked […]
The One You Hate
The things you see inside of me Are never really there, The things despised, or criticised, Belong to you, not […]
Write or Wrong
I never really quite belonged, To anyone or anywhere, Except the worlds inside my head, I’m always made so welcome […]
Coldharbour: The Big Gallhoolie
It was an ancient village that was for sure, and on some days Jake found it to be the middle […]
Dancing With Mister D. (3 stories)
Charles the Boy (The blacking factory on the left at Hungerford stairs – near present day Charing Cross station) […]
The Music of the Spheres
for David Bowie – the man who let me hear the Universe – thank you. It had always troubled the […]
The Polka Dot Comet Kid
The night that Sally was born, the comet, Hale-Bopp lit the skies above the hospital as she lay, crying. She […]
Learn To Climb Trees
Learn to climb trees, And live with skinned knees, Learn to jump gaps and laugh, Learn to handstand, Play a […]
ALICE – 1. Weird Wednesday
You go to sleep at night and who’s to say that everything will be just the same the next […]
EASY
You see the lovers, sitting, Holding hands outside the café, Perfect you would think to yourself, Just perfect, Yet for […]
Strange Loves
She hadn’t spoken to him, but then again, she didn’t need to. She knew what made him tick, […]
On The Third Day
It happened in the time of war, and when Zachariah was at the right place, and at the right time […]
100 Words to Freedom
I think I walked the length of the street with a great huge grin on my face. I wasn’t sure […]
Never Ever Let Them Get You Down
1.Just ‘Cause You’re Breathing Just ‘cause you’re breathing, Doesn’t mean you’re alive, Just ‘cause you’re clever, Doesn’t mean that you’re […]
The Promise
When you fall, I will catch you, When you call, I will be there, When you stumble, I will lift […]
Me and Buzz and the Hospital
This is just one of those quick stories I gotta tell you ‘fore Buzz finds out. Some of the sharper […]
Thing and His Birthday
The only time that Thing would ever make it down to the town was on the day of his birthday. […]
The Day That Love Was Invented
The midday sun warmed his metal quicker than it warmed his skin parts. In this field, like every other field […]
Murder
I guess it was murder that afternoon, trying to get to the coast on a train; despite the thunderstorms, flash […]
To Catch A Warm Wind
So you’re asking me what’s the story of this photograph, and I’m saying to you, just rest your bones a […]
2018 – Next Year’s Love
Next year some people will leave your life And new ones will enter Next year some dreams will vanish And […]
Me and Buzz and Lyin’
There was a time back then, a long time after Buzz’s pappy had left for somewhere down south, that Buzz […]
The Christmas Meal
When Sadie was ten years old, her mother ran away with another man and Sadie never laid eyes on her […]
The Songbird
Some hearts are born to do certain tasks, and so it was with the songbird. She had been brought into […]
Santa is a Weirdo
Sometimes you just do and sometimes it ain’t happening; and that pretty much explains my life and everyone I know. […]
A Kind of Love
Every year it was the same thing; was it going to be a big Valentine’s card (looks too needy)? A […]
Amazing Grace
It’s funny how no one talks about Amazing Grace anymore. I guess she’s been gone a long time. I guess […]
Me and Buzz and Grooviness
When me and Buzz were about 15 years old, Buzz turned to me one day and told me, straight in […]
Santa and the Battle of Hastings
He chose the highest room in town. Which, I suppose, is fair enough. What it doesn’t explain is why he […]
Can’t Stop This Gun From Crying (a Black Mirror type written before Black Mirror)
It had been welcomed by the scientific community as a life saver, as the next step in metal technology and […]
Yellow Balloon
His name was Charlie and he was a kid. Charlie was lucky enough to be living through his best years. […]
Gregory
Ever since he was little, folks had always been telling him how he should live; that he should ‘do it […]
The Bar at the End of Sugarhouse Lane
Alex’s Story If you’ve ever sauntered up Charles Street, you’ll know what I mean. Some days you see everything, the […]
The Great Tiny Escape
Hansa had felt for a long, long time that he was alone; that he was the only one who had […]
Breathers
It wasn’t hurting anyone; now was it? She’d give the kids a difficult problem to solve, although if she was […]
THING and the Lesson
Ever since Thing had been left to fend for himself, he had grown a little harder to life. I suppose […]
Thank You for Today
Thank you for today, Not everything was good, But then not everything was bad, I woke up sad and somewhere […]
Nelle and Tru (For Harper Lee)
“I hate going outside, I absolutely hate it, hate it, hate it,” said Nelle to the sad-looking boy standing […]
The Inscription
No one, and I mean no one, had ever seen the likes of the inscription before. It had lain undiscovered […]
The Titanic In New York City – 3 stories
Wednesday April 17th, 1912 Pier 60. NY,NY. After a successful maiden voyage across the North Atlantic, the Titanic berths […]
Great Aunt Bessie Played the Trombone
My great Aunt Bessie played the trombone. That’s the beginning and end of it. Although when I was a kid, […]
Bullying
I remember one fine day, I was sitting with my Grandpa. He looked at me inquisitive like. “What’s eating your […]
The House by the Sea
There was love above and below me in that house that stood beside the sea. On clear days I could […]
THING and the Lesson
Ever since Thing had been left to fend for himself, he had grown a little harder to life. I suppose […]
Martha’s Room
Martha had a room, one that she would refer to as a ‘spare room’. Not that the size of her […]
The Morning of the Day…..
She could feel the sun on her heart, as its rays broke through the window. There was a bird, a […]
I Will Remember You
I will remember you when the best of you has gone I will remember you when the song you loved […]
How I Was
It was only a few short summers between my mother asking, ‘how I was’ and her asking ‘who I was’. […]
Someone Else’s Perfect
Don’t waste your breath, Being someone else’s perfect, Don’t struggle or crawl across Someone else’s winning line, Make it your […]