Identity

by Michael Long

Your Identity lies

Within your deeds

The life you live

As you sow your seeds.

Inside and out

Whether you’re silent

Or scream and shout,

A living picture

For all to see

The things we do

Our Identity.

The Catalyst

by Michael Long

It was raining like cats and dogs bouncing on a corrugated tin roof the night he drove into town. The streets were empty, yet he could feel the eyes of people peeking out through their shuttered windows. Small towns were all the same, apprehensive of strangers and fearful of the unknown or worse, the known.

Yes, they knew him all right. They knew why he left town ten years ago, and why he had returned. They both longed for and dreaded this moment and what it would bring. Judgment Day for some; redemption for others. But which side would come out on top? That was the question in everyone's hearts and minds.

The whole town was a cauldron of secrets and closeted skeletons, awaiting strings to make them dance like some macabre marionette show. He knew all their dirty laundry, and his return was just the catalyst to make the bones come to life.

He drove into the empty parking lot of the local Motel 6. The neon vacancy sign still blinked in disrepair. He got out of his 1964 Lincoln convertible with suicide doors and pulled his black leather trench coat around his now bulkier 5'6" frame. With his black leather slouch hat already dripping from the downpour, he walked briskly into the lobby and rang the service bell summoning the night help.

Vertigo

by Liz

Why would anyone sign up for spinning classes at the gym! As kids we love to twist the playground swing around and around, or ride a roller-coaster over and over.To stop the feeling was easy; just get off. As an adult, however, it is not quite so simple. I have four friends whose lives have been changed by episodes of vertigo. It's not for sissies!