Issue 23: Summer 2024

Letter from the Editor

Dear readers, As I sit upon this rapidly melting block of ice, I realize Summer is here. I trust that you are keeping cool during this dreadfully blistering time. How hot is it? It’s hotter than a Jalapeño’s armpit on the Fourth of July … It’s so hot I have to sleep in the oven just to cool off … It’s hotter than a two-peckered goat … It’s so hot the chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs! (Insert your favorite cliché here.). Now is the time to grab a refreshing ICED beverage and relax with the Summer Edition of eMerge.

We have curated an exceptional collection of poetry and short stories that will not only entertain but also stimulate your intellect. From Bill McCloud’s poem, Lip Prints, which cleverly juxtaposes science and whimsey, to the thought-provoking poem by Elizabeth G. Howard, All the Fat, which beautifully encapsulates the weight and significance of poetic expression, each piece brings something unique and thought-provoking to the table. Amidst the sweltering Summer days, you will find a breath of fresh air in this issue of eMerge.

eMerge is published thanks to the unwavering dedication of a small but passionate team—a team that delights in sharing our love of contemporary literature with you. Cat Templeton (one of my brilliant daughters), who diligently maintains our website and handles last-minute edits; Sandra Templeton (beautiful inside and out), our incredibly talented art director; and Chad Gurley, our skilled graphic design editor and social media editor. We are currently raising funds to ensure the continuity of a literary magazine that is not reliant on advertising. If you find this issue enjoyable, please consider making a small donation here. Even a modest contribution will help us continue publishing writing from emerging writers that captivates and inspires.

We would also like to express our gratitude to our Featured Partners, Blue Clover Editing, where Aubrey Green, a professional copyeditor, ensures that your manuscript remains unique throughout the editorial process. Bill and Lara Bernhardt are bestselling authors, the masterminds behind WriterCon, and the publishers of WriterCon Magazine. The Ozark Writers League, informally known as "OWL," supports the desire of writers, artists, and photographers throughout the Ozarks region to expand their knowledge of the craft and to connect with and encourage the creativity of others. The Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow has been providing residences for writers for the last twenty years and for their long-time support and commitment to uplifting writers of all genres at all stages in their careers.

Until next time,

I remain,

Just another Zororastafarian editor who has been around the world twice and once suggested to Ernest Hemingway that he didn’t know how to make a proper Manhattan and when I woke up he was gone …


Table of Contents

  1. A Garden Morning
    by Sharon Spurlin
  2. Excerpt from Chapter 3 of Brothers Bound
    by Bruce K. Berger
  3. Of All the Sorrows
    by Nancy Paddock
  4. All the Fat
    by Elizabeth G. Howard
  5. Balance
    by John Dorroh
  6. Free
    by Melia Snyder
  7. The Shore of Santa Monica
    by Anna Robertson
  8. (The Illusion of) Flight: (A Jade Poem)
    by Bill McCloud
  9. Illumination
    by Linda Neal Reising
  10. Dear Poem
    by Julie Hoffman
  11. Last Letter to My Love
    by Donna Hanson
  12. Writing My Story
    by Bill McCloud
  13. Look at Me
    by Jessica Hannon
  14. Mudslide
    by John Dorroh
  15. The Waning of Miss Lyla Bluetree
    by T. Daniel Wright
  16. Displaced Lines
    by D. L. Lang
  17. Written in My Garden
    by George Freek
  18. A Mother’s Love
    by Ray Shermer
  19. It Is Time
    by Chad Gurley
  20. The Willow and the Barn
    by Beth Hannah
  21. To Odysseus
    by Mia Marion
  22. Canine Chatter
    by Zeek Taylor
  23. Make Believe
    by Claire Collins
  24. Larry Runs Afoul at D’Amato’s Delicatessen
    by Julie Peterson Freeman
  25. The Lane of Life
    by Holly Ellison
  26. Feigning Sleep
    by Daniel P. Stokes
  27. Walt
    by Charles Templeton
  28. D & D at the Chinquapin Cemetery
    by Ruth Weinstein
  29. There is in Me
    by Erin McGrane
  30. Life in Punctuation
    by Darlene Graf
  31. Abundance of Rain
    by Jonathan Chibuike Ukah
  32. Signifying Nothing
    by Susan Hendel
  33. Invisible Confession
    by Jack Albert
  34. The House of Butler
    by Patricia Trentacoste
  35. People
    by Madison Hu
  36. Jerry In the Field
    by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
  37. Lowell
    by A. Johnston
  38. Dead Man’s Creek
    by Lea Ann Crisp
  39. Dark Cocoa Brownies
    by Anna Gall
  40. Karmically, I Mumbled
    by Jessica Cloud
  41. A Death is Near
    by John Ganshaw
  42. Adulting is Risky
    by Jeanean Doherty
  43. Meeting My Muse
    by Kathryn Lorenzen
  44. Reserving Judgement
    by Joyce Hanewinkel
  45. The Seamstress
    by Jojo O’Such
  46. We’ll All die
    by Shahryar Eskandari Zanjani
  47. Lip Prints (she's been a lot of places)
    by Bill McCloud
  48. untitled
    by Faune Vita
  49. Walking
    by Joan Roberts
  50. Issue 23: Summer 2024
    by Charles Templeton

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About the Author

Charles Templeton is the author of the best-selling, surreal historical novel, Boot: A Sorta Novel of Vietnam. When he is not singing at the Metropolitan Opera, you can find him in Eureka Springs, where he is currently an editor/publisher at eMerge, an online literary magazine. Charles wakes up daily and is thankful for the opportunity to offer creative literature to a diverse audience from emerging and established authors. He knows that whatever vicissitudes life throws at him, it will always be better than shovelin’ shit in the South China Sea.