Short Takes...# 4

Nuances:

Sunday, Sunday…off to a champagne brunch with friends; taking a leisurely walk to admire the fall foliage; watching all day and evening football games at home or at a neighborhood spot; catching up on the latest movie; going to a museum or two or three; raking and bagging leaves; strolling through neighborhoods and window shopping.  Sunday…a very good day for an introduction to Michael, Rita, Unyierie and Ashley. Let’s get started.

Glimpses:

Michael D. Brown, PhD

Michael D. Brown from Syracuse, New York is teaching and living in China, where he ventured off to from California.  He is an award-winning author and recently discovered aaduna.  Our gain.  In the fall issue, he contributed two poems, “Edgar Allen Poe's advice” and “Lineage.”  Here is a brief excerpt from ‘Lineage:”

Half of me Native American,

On both parents’ side;

Imagine the odds of that.

Half of me African American,

On both parents’ side:

I am considering a lottery ticket.

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Rita Friend

Rita Friend joins aaduna with two contributions, a flash fiction piece and a creative non-fiction work. She is a financial manager with the U.S. Air Force, mother of three teenagers and part-time student but she still finds the time to write.  Good for her!

Here is a quick excerpt from “The Runner,” her flash fiction.

Tying the brand new running shoes, her mind raced through the course. Lining up at the starting line. Thinking—you got this—just as before. On your mark, get set, go! The crowd takes off, some slower than others, as she weaves in and out of slower runners.

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Unyierie Angela Idem makes a return visit to aaduna with   “The New Scramble,” “Absurdity” and “Reflections.”  She teaches at a community college in Massachusetts and is a frequent guest reader at libraries through out that state.  We initially presented her poetry in the fall 2011 issue and we are pleased to have her in the fall 2012 issue.

From the “The New Scramble,” a real tease:

Don’t grab my lands and

Colonize me anew.

For centuries, you bled me.

In my labor pains, you carried

Away my babies to strange lands.

My fetuses, you fed to the sharks

In the dark salty oceans.

Voyage after voyage, you plied

The same routes, bled me

Again and again and again.

My strength faded as I teetered

Between life and death.

What did it matter, as long as the

Wheels of your plantations turned

On the backs of my people?

 

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Ashley Lane

Ashley Lane is a photography model and a photography student and in the fall 2012 issue, we give you both of her “faces.” She is still exploring her creative sensibilities and options, but aaduna is sure she will have a major presence on our consciousness as she spreads her wings and soars.  Her work as a visual artist will be in the Kuta Gallery.  As a photography model, well…you try to find her in the next issue.  She has that presence too!