Breathing through creativity ~ Embracing life after loss and infertility ~ A Still Standing Sister Magazine http://exhaleliterarymag.com
Wishing you all a peaceful Holiday season. I will resume reading/publishing on Exhale after the start of the year. You can send your submissions of poetry, artwork, photography, essays, short fiction, and book/movie reviews to exhalesubmissions (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you to all who have shared their amazing perspectives and voices with us this year. - Kristin
"I stopped to watch the caged birds. They flitted and stretched in flashes of yellow blue brown red green. The crowd of them was a storm of swirling molecules. But, up close, each could be identified by the smallest details.
"How I Remember You," by Julie Forman.
(From Sunday--My apologies for not sharing this sooner - Kristin)
I stopped to watch the caged birds. They flitted and stretched in flashes of yellowbluebrownredgreen. The crowd of them was a storm of swirling molecules. But, up close, each could be identified by...
"I grieve my loss of motherhood
The need to hold her makes me sore
The feeling that I have been robbed
Every time a mother holds her living baby closely
I am convinced
that nobody knows about my tears."
Today on Exhale, "You Kept All My Tears," by Franchesca Cox
The day Jenna died and I walked away from the hospital with empty arms I cried so many tears my face hurt and my soul felt dead Life was changed Death was real And I wondered if anybody knew about ...
"I sit quietly in the rocking chair, waiting for my sweet angel to rest his head on my chest. He flutters down from the heavens ever so graciously. I know when he has landed because I smile..." Today on Exhale, For a Moment by Teresa Mackey
I sit quietly in the rocking chair Waiting for my sweet angel to rest his head on my chest He flutters down from the heavens ever so graciously I know when he has landed because I smile and our ele...
like the moon
not yet full
nestled
in the leaves
like me
and you
not fully formed
already out of my body
the breeze brings me
you
Today on Exhale, A Photograph of Us, by Cheli Blasco
like the moon not yet full nestled in the leaves like me and you not fully formed already out of my body the breeze brings me you swiflty (too soon) swishes right back out but in the swishing I fel...
"We've dreamed of you, embraced in arms
Of baby smiles and stares
We've loved you long before we knew
If you were even there"
Today on SS Poetry Sunday, The Miscarriage by Vicky Wallace
We've dreamed of you, embraced in arms Of baby smiles and stares We've loved you long before we knew If you were even there And there you were, two little lines A promise of new life First flash of...
"How we work through our scars and through our grief varies from person to person, case by case, loss by loss. What works for you, may not work for me. It takes time and effort to discover the exercises and outlets that will be most effective for each individual." Today on Exhale, On Scars and Healing by Kathy Benson.
I have been in pelvic floor physical therapy for the past nine months, helping my body to heal from the trauma of trying to build our family since 2002. My therapist has focused a lot of her time a...
We have conceived you
and though I am heavy
with you in my womb,
no one can see it,
your arms being carved
heart beating hard
in its five millimeter seed.
Today on Exhale, Pruning Burning Bushes, a collection of four poems by Sarah M. Wells
Assailants A pair of bluebirds perch beside the nestingbox. They keep trying to fly in, twitter as they flutter, but a sparrow blocks the entrance. The bluebirds cheep and flap their feathers, fly ...
(This is one that I know every one of our readers will relate to - Kristin)
Today on SS Poetry Sunday: "I Like to Share Too," by Susan Guilfoyle.
You came at me, with smiles galore Bursting to share about your littlest one. I took a deep breath and said a quick prayer. I listened intently, focused on every word, Smiling, laughing and celebra...
"So for us, there will be no back to normal
A new normal we must undertake
We are the same family, yet forever are we changed
And shall carry on... for Sebastian's sake."
Today on Exhale, For Sebastian's Sake by Jason Garey
An elegy for Sebastian Peter Garey. Born in silence on April 6, 2013 Our sixth month journey was clear sailing Mama held you in safe harbor Our arms anxiously awaited you Our swelling hearts concur...
Miscarriage is like a death at sea
in the olden days,
when there was no choice but to throw the body overboard,
and the mourning family would stand at the prow,
watching the body sink
Today on Exhale, Death at Sea, an incredibly moving piece by Amy Lutes
miscarriage is like a death at sea in the olden days,when there was no choice but to throw the body overboard, and the mourning family would stand at the prow, watching the body sink, watching it s...
"I was unbelievably elated as I saw two pink lines
I thought this is it, this is my time!
My days of weeping for a child are no more
God has opened my womb's locked door"
Today on Still Standing's Poetry Sunday, Standing in Stillness by Darshini Jacob
I was unbelievably elated as I saw two pink lines I thought this is it, this is my time! My days of weeping for a child are no more God has opened my wombs locked door The beginnings led my feet to...
"Reading Still, mothers in the early, seemingly unending days of frantic mourning can find communion and normalcy--and even some peace in their shared journey."
On Exhale: Cathering Bayly Reviews: Still by Stephanie Cole.
Almost a year after meeting Stephanie Cole, in the virtual way we “meet” nowadays, we saw one another face to face. Two mothers, each with a lost daughter—mine Sophie, and hers Madeline. But what...
Very beautiful piece. "Puzzles," by Vince Cogley.
http://exhaleliterarymagazine.stillstandingmag.com/2013/09/puzzles-by-vince-cogley
One day, a child wandered into the toy store on his way to school. Inside, the world was alive on a smaller scale. A remote-controlled helicopter whirred by the child’s head on patrol around the ...
Sing, O child! Sing your Song! Sing with all your heart and might!
As your cherishers, we will listen for it. And when we hear its sweet strains, we will rejoice in the singing of it back to you.
Today on Exhale, "Song Child," by Shelly Price.
Upon the christening of your passage, the Earth was still. All her creatures waited in reverent silence, poised to hear the sweet strains of your Song. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you;...
"Where am I supposed to go to now?
I question this in every inch of time
I glance behind me and it’s all a blur
Still life paintings there now, but once moments mine." A few days late with sharing, from this past Sunday: Impasse, by Sam Barlow
Where am I supposed to go to now? I question this in every inch of time I glance behind me and it’s all a blur Still life paintings there now, but once moments mine. Where am I meant to travel to n...
"Still I know you are with us
Always in our hearts
And if we search for you
We shall never be apart."
On Exhale, "I Shall Find You," by Kacy Wiant
"I stare at her eyes,
they hold such dark emptiness
Once they shone brightly
with faith and hopefulness..."
Today on Still Standing's Poetry Sunday: A Reflection of Me by Sam Barlow
One inch closer, towards the mirror I see This new shape of someone who looks something like me I stare at her eyes, they hold such dark emptiness Once they shone brightly with faith and hopefulnes...
"You can't see the scars
The marks left from grief
The fear
The anxiety
Waiting for the other shoe to drop..."
Today on Exhale, Scars by Sarah Caito
"This is a poem that doesn't follow the right order
A poem that ends before it begins
Good bye before hello..."
This is a poem that doesn’t rhyme It doesn’t follow a sing-song cadence Wrapping up carefully and cleverly Ending on a high note This is a poem that doesn’t follow the right order A poem that ends ...
"Infertility is a disease and constant battle that has many faces..." Today on Exhale, "Measures," by Kelly Garrity.
Infertility is a disease and constant battle that has many faces, Every version of the journey is unique whether you have had one miscarriage or three, pprom, stillbirth, years of not getting pregn...
"These marks, these scars I now bear... They tell of a place my babies grew..." From our Scars and Marks Issue, "These Marks," by Anonymous
About this Piece: These marks, these scars I now bear... They tell of a place my babies grew, they tell of the love I have for my fiancée and the love I have for my children. They also tell a story...
"Dear baby, Today is the day you were supposed to arrive. The day you'd begin to grow and to thrive. Mommy and Daddy were excited to see, the gift from Heaven you were supposed to be." Today on SS Poetry Sundays: A Poem by Crissy Thompson
Dear baby, Today is the day you were supposed to arrive. The day you'd begin to grow and to thrive. Mommy and daddy were excited to see, The gift from heaven, you were supposed to be. We planned an...
"...looking at that scar reminds me that she will always be part of me, and for that, I am thankful!" Today on Exhale, "The Scar Reminds Me," by Amy Fessler.
Today kicks off our Scars and Marks issue on Exhale with, "Living in New Skin," by Angel Klodt.
"A beautiful bouncy baby boy,
Short lived however was my joy
Hopes & dreams for a new life,
Cancer-the word cut like a knife."
A genetic lottery they say, I remember all too clearly that day. A lottery no one should "win", Leukemia - the words still sinking in. A beautiful bouncy baby boy, Short lived however was my joy. H...
We are still accepting submissions for our upcoming issue of Exhale, with the theme of "Scars and Marks." Please send your submissions of poetry, essays, short fiction, artwork and photography to exhalesubmissions (at) gmail (dot) com. We will begin sharing this issue with you shortly. As always, we are also accepting poetry for SS Poetry Sundays under any theme, and book/movie/play reviews that relate in some way to your journey through loss and/or infertility.~Kristin
We are still accepting submissions for our upcoming issue of Exhale, with the theme of "Scars and Marks." Please send your submissions of poetry, essays, short fiction, artwork and photography to exhalesubmissions (at) gmail (dot) com. We will begin sharing this issue with you at the end of this month. ~Kristin
"Nothing carves out more space in our hearts than sorrow. And that's the space where the love moves in." ~ Meg Hutchinson
Physical. Emotional. Mental. What Scars and Marks have you been left with during your journey through loss and infertility? Exhale is accepting submissions of short fiction, essay, poetry, art & photography for our new issue, "Scars and Marks," which will begin posting at the end of this month. As always, we are also accepting poetry submissions for Still Standing's Poetry Sundays, and book/movie/play etc. reviews. Email submissions to exhalesubmissions(at)gmail(dot)com
Just a note to say that Exhale will be down for the next few days as we put together our beautiful new page design!
"If you ask my Dad how he feels? He’ll probably be as quiet as the midnight air Because of this horrible pain he tries to bare." This week on SS Poetry Sundays: My Daddy's Grief, by JP Vinson **My apologies for posting this a day late (I'm in the middle of moving) - Kristin
If you ask my Dad how he feels? He’ll probably be as quiet as the midnight air Because of this horrible pain he tries to bare And If you ask him and he just quietly sighs Look harder, you’ll see th...
"This last little while has been a strange mix of fear and hope. Bright red warned me at every moment that something was wrong; a few strong kicks let my mind wander to paint colors and..." Today on Exhale, Midnight Musings by Kali Linder.
February 8th This last little while has been a strange mix of fear and hope. Bright red warned me at every moment that something was wrong; a few strong kicks let my mind wander to paint colors and...
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