The Abstract Art Gallery
A writing gallery created by writers from around the world. From poetry to song lyrics, from essays to entire novels and short stories.
When Elspeth's family leaves her at a campsite, she decides to be a kind of Robinson Crusoe.
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…saw her parents and her uncle and aunt leave the campsite in southern Ohio on a hot summer day. Elspeth was seven and had been playing in the woods. When she emerged, she watched the two cars heading down the gravel road. Her parents were in one car, and her aunt and uncle in the…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read More…his grandson Patrick into the living room. The thirteen year old was later than usual on his weekly visit.
‘Howayeh?’ said Sean, his Dublin accent thick despite the decades spent living in Manchester.
Patrick simply shrugged. He tossed his rucksack to the taking his coat off and flopping onto…
By Chris Platt
Read More…trouble is, I got indicted for selling smack. Actually, I wasn’t the one pushing. This kid, named Enrique Henderson, was selling the horse, and he was paying me protection money for it all the while. Now the boss, Mr. Spirochete, he really frowns on the selling of narcotics, you know? He had started an edict—you deal, you die. Two behind the ear, just like…
By Jack Bristow
Read More…smell of smoke; the sound of rapid-succession gunfire; deafening howls and shrill voices piercing my eardrums; earlier some smart aleck Swatman launched a smoke projectile into the Hyman and Hyman Legal Counsel building on Johnson street in Ventura, California. Susie Bingham, Glenn Hyman's very pregnant and docile paralegal pulled her…
By Jack Bristow
Read MoreA day at school with my daughter
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…when McKenzie, my daughter was in the second grade I believe. Her teacher called me in the early afternoon while class was still in…
By Judge Burdon
Read More…went through the double doors and into the social club. The room was like any other club in the Northwest, with round tables and stools filling the room, and a bar running along one end. Phil could almost hear a cheesy lounge singer murdering songs from the Nineteen Seventies. The place was empty, so he headed straight for the bar. He might as well have a pint while he waiting for the other mourners to…
By Chris Platt
Read More…pottered half-heartedly, rearranging what didn’t need arranging. His daughter stood by the window, cup in hand, gaze fixed stern out into the sanctuary of the middle distance. They couldn’t find a safe way to put words on it, silence took up a heavy dominion. The house couldn’t hold the growing…
By Niall Crowley
Read MoreJosie loses her job and rebels when two friends tell her that "everything happens for a reason."
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…was Adele who first told Josie that "everything happens for a reason." Josie had just lost her job, and she could not think of a single reason that this cataclysm should have…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreFriend is a flexible word with many meanings.
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…is What’s Up radio broadcasting from big, beautiful clear-channel WALTZ. I’m Tuck Avery. My co-conspirator is Buzz Belton. We wanna know what you think about friends. We all have friends: good friends; disappointing friends. friends we didn’t know we had; all kinds of…
By K. L. Shipley
Read MoreWhen Jonathan returns home to Queens at the end of World War II, he is missing a…
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…watched as he emerged from the car. He had crutches, and his right pant leg was pinned up. She wondered why he didn't just let the pants cascade down to the ground. Maybe he would trip, since he had no right foot…
By Anita G. Gorman
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