Writer's Muse Magazine: Spring 2014 Issue Read online

Richard Cotton is the founder of Writer’s Muse Group, a Facebook group with more than 500 writers that supports budding authors and poets in the writing and process by providing a mutually supportive environment. You can find the Writer’s Muse Page at:

  https://www.facebook.com/richard.cotton200

  Beneath the Dogwood Tree

  By Kerry E.B. Black

  Beneath the Dogwood Tree

  Written by Kerry E.B. Black

  Behold the beauty

  Beneath the dogwood tree

  Where petals fall

  Blanketing bare me.

  ‘Tis tree accustomed

  To trembling, torn tears

  With petals altered,

  Trepidation seers.

  Springtime seduction

  Siren-sung romance

  Sainted petals sail

  Sun-kissed during dance.

  He left aft kisses

  Halved my heaving heart

  There beneath the dogwood

  Happy fell apart.

  Daisy Chain

  By Kerry E.B. Black

  Granny knots in slender stems

  Around and through and back again

  To make a wreath for fairy friends

  Twisting round and back again

  Innocence in snowy blooms

  Amazing mazing back again

  With winsome wishes wondering

  Coursing curves and back again.

  Dream World

  By Haven Malone

  I open my eyes and his soft breathing eases me. I turn my head and there he lies. The man of my dreams. The man I have waited for my entire life. I ripple the back of my fingers softly down his cheek. Are you real? Are you here with me? I breathe deep and inhale his scent. His cologne still so familiar to me. As I look down at his body I see all I want. Not perfect but lovely to me. A heart that belongs to me, my world. That will never change.

  From the day we met until now, I knew one day we would be together. The years it took gave us time to get to know each other. The warmth of his smile or touch of his hand. Always the friend who listened when I cried. Hugging me tight to comfort me. A soft kiss to my cheek or a comical joke to coax a smile to my face. His beautiful blue eyes glitter whenever he had made me happy once again.

  Respect for me and my marriage kept him at arm's length. After years of waiting, we finally came together in a way that should have happened years before. Finally together we had the life both of us wanted.

  He opens his eyes, his smile as bright as the sun. His eyes show the warmth of his soul. He wraps his arms around me and the world fades from reality. He pulls me close and I feel the safety of his arms filling my world. This here and now is my reality and I never want it to end.

  Then one day, I awoke to a phone call. Not from him but from his step daughter. She was in tears upon finding him collapsed on the floor. Through her hysteria she said that he was so cold. I groan and roll onto my left side, clutching my belly. I want someone to hug me, even if it's only me. Sobbing, I rock, trying to comfort myself. I know I'm here, in this body, I have to be, but I'm cold. Everything's cold. Me. My world. My life.

  The sun rises and slants its way into my eyes. Blinded for a moment, the cold settles in to my body and soul once again. Reality is back. As my eyes open reality sets in. Sighing as another tear falls down my cheek. Another dream. The dream that never ends. I don't ever want it to end. One day we will be together again.

  About the Author

  Haven Malone is a new author. She is retired, and enjoys spending time with her family. She loves to create fictional stories and her favorite would be love stories, although she is also partial to fantasy. Her story “Dreams” publication is a mix of fantasy and reality. Her author page can be found on Facebook at:

  https://www.facebook.com/HavenMaloneAuthor.