Flora Fiction

09/06/2026

Finally Finding Thoreau by Jim Bates

When we were kids, my best friend Jerry and I spent as much time as we could walking the fields and woods a few miles from where we grew up in a small town in west-central Minnesota....

When we were kids, my best friend Jerry and I spent as much time as we could walking the fields and woods a few miles from where we grew up in a small town in west-central Minnesota. We liked to pr…

08/23/2026

Molten Memory by Jim Bates

The sun rose fiery on a hazy July dawnThe clouds were blood red the world silent in awe…...

08/16/2026

Jura by Iona Marcellino

Ebb and flowOf slate wavesOn pebble-stoned sandSoft calls of swans and sealsReclaiming their magic…...

Ebb and flowOf slate wavesOn pebble-stoned sandSoft calls of swans and sealsReclaiming their magicLandAncient bramblesTorn along edgesOf churches and fieldsFaithfully protectingThe hills, the lakes…

08/09/2026

A Joke Foretold by Nostradamas by Ricardo Quinones

The Duke bombarded Venice—the Doge cried, “God have mercy!”but cries no more—death is witless—...

The Duke bombarded Venice—the Doge cried, “God have mercy!”but cries no more—death is witless—and skiffs halt—abreast, our sea. The Emperor in Paris—in repose, sits he, unstirred.He dreams of fair …

08/02/2026

Background Noise by Michael Boss

I didn’t notice the fridgeuntil the power went out.And then I missed its steady faith—...

I didn’t notice the fridgeuntil the power went out.And then I missed its steady faith—a presence that said: still here.The air conditioner’s wheeze,the neighbor’s dog at 3 a.m.,traffic bleeding thr…

07/26/2026

Cotter Pin by Martin Indars

Tibet's oppressed. Arctic ice is getting thin. But all I need is a cotter pin.If not that a bolt or rivet may do…...

Tibet’s oppressed. Arctic ice is getting thin. But all I need is a cotter pin.If not that a bolt or rivet may dofor my troubles now are small -their fixes are too. I know, I know Australia& #8…

07/19/2026

It’s Hard for Me to Tell My Brother I Love Him, So Instead I Write a Story by Alice Kinerk

The word addiction comes from Latin. It means to surrender. A drug addict is a person who has given over his or her life to a substance, who has given drugs the helm....

The word addiction comes from Latin. It means to surrender. A drug addict is a person who has given over his or her life to a substance, who has given drugs the helm. The first time my …

07/12/2026

The Blue Binder by Jonathan Ferrini

Victor grew up inside a trailer park with dilapidated trailers packed together like tuna in a rusty old can....

Victor grew up inside a trailer park with dilapidated trailers packed together like tuna in a rusty old can. His grandmother’s trailer smelled of cleaning supplies; the scent she brought home from …

07/05/2026

Johnny Ace at the Pearly Gates by Jeffrey Hantover

Johnny Ace (John Marshall Alexander, Jr.)December 25, 1954 The last week in December was always a busy period for St....

Johnny Ace (John Marshall Alexander, Jr.)December 25, 1954 The last week in December was always a busy period for St. Peter. Many of the infirm and the aged who willed themselves to make it to Chri…

06/28/2026

Altered by Christina Rousseau

There’s a peculiar amount of freedomthat comes with losing everything. The colors of my life dance around me…...

There’s a peculiar amount of freedomthat comes with losing everything. The colors of my life dance around meas they are stripped away. Rosy reds of my blood that once washed my cheeksreminding me t…