Via Dolorosa-A Collaboration of Nigel & Melissa (a reblog)

https://melissalemay.wordpress.com/2024/03/31/via-dolorosa-a-collaboration-with-nigel-byng/?page_id=8647 I have the biggest respect for both Nigel and Melissa. These two are extraordinary briliant writers/poets and storytellers. I applaud Melissa for using the first person point of view in all of her poetry pieces. I too, use the same POV in most of my poems unless required by a certain prompt or form....

In The Dying Light by Nigel Byng

In The Dying Light by Nigel Byng He is holding the old kerosene lamp, and I am cradling the smoke-tinged shade he had asked me to hold so carefully. I didn’t even wish to breathe for fear I would drop it. He was refilling the oil font, setting the wick, grinding his teeth. Hands moving...

To Be a Vampire or Not by Selma Martin

To Be a Vampire or Not by Selma Martin “A trial on Vampirey,” you say. Now you’ve heard it all!  I know, right? But isn’t that the way temptation begins? We, the adults among us, knowthis is nothing but buffoonery–I believe it’s safe to assume that–but the young oneswho cannot wait to grow up sometimes...

The Years of Famine by Nigel Byng

The Years of Famine by Nigel Byng The sidewalk café is quiet at this time of the morning. I sit here drafting a poem. Maybe the woman of my dreams would consider this desperate. I know that I would. We haven’t seen each other for seven years, and she’s supposed to meet me here in...

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 By Bianca Alina

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 By Bianca Alina You look at me as I put on the red dress. Red dress, black stilettos, and red lipstick. You tell me that I look like a femme fatale. I laugh. The broken-hearted femme fatale! I was so broken when I met you. I put my heart in the wrong man's...

Emmett Till, Emmett Till, Emmett Till by Joni Caggiano

Emmett Till, Emmett Till, Emmett Till by Joni Caggiano sun shimmers in dark eyes, life stirs, myriad of dreamsa princely smile creates unstoppable joyfourteen-years happy, bout to be in city’s ugly schemes a beautiful child who could sing, dance, whistle and playhis mama’s tender nurturing handtouching suit, told him, stay close to cousins, don’t stray...

Awakening by Nigel Byng

Awakening by Nigel Byng The abyss of bliss, limitless mischief. Boys will be boys she said. A flippant surrender. She recognizes it’s like trying to inhale a tornado, a failure apparent when confronted by boundless, unfettered testosterone. To havoc wreak with duplicitous misdeeds, an ode to joy, and unsupervised malfeasance. The harmony of buzzing bees,...

A Bentley and a Spanking for Christmas by Nigel Byng

A Bentley and a Spanking for Christmas by Nigel Byng Mr. Sookram was the first and only man I had ever seen driving an oxcart. He used to bring my friend Singles and his little sister Savita to school every morning on this behemoth. Then he would head off to the cane field to start...

Traitor John by Terveen Gill

I am John’s brain. And I never shut up. Not even for a second. The man thinks he’s tormented. I say he’s blessed. What use is a brain if it’s dull and quiet? Why carry the extra weight if its services aren’t required? But John doesn’t understand. It’s not his fault exactly. It’s that stupid...

AGNES by Nigel Byng

AGNES by Nigel Byng When she slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of her, she knew that the truck behind her was not going to stop as quickly. It’s amazing what you can process in less than two seconds. That’s how long it took for the truck behind her to...

Family of Origin Pt. IV by Melissa Lemay

My father is in all my poemslike a lover whoseheartacheis in all his songs.Like his father beforehim, I did not know him. They are the onesthat got away. Sadly,this became tradition.My father’s motherand my motherdid not get along.I called her Grammy.She smoked cigarettes,and she liked to play Bingo.We would play card gamesand Yahtzee with my...

The Evil At Four Mile Creek by Nigel Byng

The Evil At Four Mile Creek by Nigel Byng   After her enforced sabbatical, Natalia returned to North Carolina. It was a chance to get her life restarted. A new apartment; new job; and a fresh take on life. In this part of North Carolina, nobody knew who she was. She could disappear into the...

Call for Submission for the Holidays

Hotel Masticadores joins the whole world in celebrating the Holiday Season. We are now accepting Christmas/Holiday prose and poetry. Happy Holidays everyone. Let us also take this moment to pray for all the victims of terrorism, war, violence, abuse, and other forms of unjust human acts that treat a person or group badly in a...

Something Borrowed by Nigel Byng

Something Borrowed (A Hotel Masticadores Halloween Special) By Nigel Byng PART TWO I smirked. At least I had company for my final agonizing hours. I didn’t mind dying. Everyone kicked the bucket at some point. Old man Jimmy Henderson, died in the latrine, and his wife fell over when she found him later that day....

Something Borrowed By Nigel Byng

Something Borrowed (A Hotel Masticadores Halloween Special) By Nigel Byng PART ONE I had planned our escape down to the last detail. It was the eve of All Souls Day, and it was a foolproof plan. But then fate decided that she needed to stick her pampered, powered nose in my bloody business. Fate, in...