contributors

Hi! I’m Robbie. I’m a daily

lifestyle blogger at

www.knitxcore.com. My

Interests include all things old

and dusty, eating pasta late at

night and making a life out of

string and sticks.

I’m Aubri, I’ll be twenty one this year and have

been writing poetry for ten. While poetry will

always be my favorite form of writing, I also

enjoy writing historical fiction and creative non-

fiction. After graduating with a degree in English

Literature this spring, I plan to continue writing

and travel as much as possible, then perhaps

seek a career in editing. I’m inspired by music

more than anything else, but love reading work

from all genres, eras, and cultures.

Hello there my name is Janet Silver born July 1990. Though

my current major in college is General Studies, I plant to

transfer to a four year college to major in English with a

concentration in Creative Writing. Since I was young one of my

hobbies was drawing, I drew a lot but somewhere in there I

began to do little to no drawing and moved towards writing

more and I enjoyed it. There are perhaps still a desire to draw,

paint, etc. in me but between that and writing, I can express

myself so much more generally through lyrics, poems and

short stories. I have only taken three creative writing classes,

one in high school junior year and two classes in college (so

far). I can’t wait to take more when I transfer, hopefully I will

continue to improve as a writer.

When I’m walking

different places

Sometimes I stop

to feel your bones

I try to remember

what you looked like

When you were

still full of life

-Robert Dulaney

Inside a hollowed-out, wooden belly

We were shipwrecked, then swallowed

By a whale, like the one that sat stuffed

On the top shelf above our twin bed.

We were old maids, like the deck

Of cards pop did tricks with after Friday dinner,

Making tea in our living room, which always

Smelled of pine and sap.

We had barely escaped; our

Disney lunchboxes stuffed to the brim, with

Millions of dollars in strips of bark, which

We buried under the earthy floorboards

To save for tomorrow; it was getting dark.

-Aubri Fouts

From below

It does not seem so high

Not such a big deal

From up there

It is all so threatening

From below

You can only see so much

From up here

You are like a bird in the trees

No one really acknowledges you

But you can see almost everything

From up on the balcony

I see him

See him everyday

I wonder

Where does he go

What does he do

Does he live alone or with others

If the latter, does he treat them right

Or does he do what he will only do behind closed doors

Is he a good guy

Or is he a monster walking among us

From below it does not seem so high

From up there

It is all so threatening yet peaceful

Until you jump then it is neither

-Janet Silver

I watch her shuck corn on her front lawn;

A folding chair and a paper bag.

Peeling back the husk,

Smelling the yellow hair.

She walks to the grocery store;

I know because I do to.

It’s not very far for me,

And only slightly further for her.

Using recyclable bags,

She carries home her produce.

Switching arms when one gets tired,

Or when her fingers turn purple.

When she gets home

She sits on her lawn chair

And examines her consequence

Before stripping it bare.

-Robert Dulaney

We watched grandpa make a cigarette butt

Disappear under a Dixie cup, and ate ice cream

Out of plastic bowls, while Mom told us that

Plastic bowls and too much TV and cigarette butts

Were all “nothing to mess with.”

Later, after grandpa left and the ambulances came

We sat in the back room that used to be Dad’s

And watched the bird play dead at the bottom

Of her cage. My sister ran around the room,

Flapping her wings, pretending to fly.

Mom told us that heart-attacks were

“nothing to mess with” and that grandma wasn’t

coming home. My sister said the bird flew away

and that she was flying away too; we could all

fly away, just like the bird.

My sister asked if we were all like birds,

And I said, “yes, everyone dies” before she turned the light off.

-Aubri Fouts

Cool breeze

No souls much in sight

Take for a cat here, a squirrel there

Within the quiet appearing homes

The coffee being made

The breakfast being eaten

The abuse possibly being had

From beyond this street I walk down

In the same town

What crime could be committed right now

The crime that will soon be watched by everyone

From their TV

From their phones

Read from the internet

From the newspapers

It is all too early

but for some not early enough

I walk with the breeze in my face

While someone else might have a bullet in theirs

Or perhaps a knife or a forced pillow, at this very moment

Something is happening, maybe something no one ever knows about

No news coverage

Nothing to be watched

Nothing about it in the newspapers

On the phones, on the TV, on the internet

Another slip through the ever growing crack

-Janet Silver

Samantha Jackson has been a Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey

resident for about 15 years. Ms. Jackson age 27 is a local library employee, here are some of

her thoughts about her town, Springfield.

-Interviewer: Janet Silver

-Resident: Samantha Jackson

Janet: Hello Samantha, how are you?

Samantha: Fine thanks and you?

Janet: Doing well myself thank you, so today I want to ask you some questions about the

town you are currently living in, your thoughts and feelings. Now let’s begin, why did you

decide to move here in Springfield in the first place?

Samantha: I was about 12 when my parents decided to move further up New Jersey. Though

this is not as way far up as the Springfield in Union County, they preferred the one in

Burlington for reasons such as it had a much smaller population. The schools were smaller,

so more focus on students by the teachers, they liked smaller towns in general. They also

been thinking about moving for a while and finally found a nice, little house at a decent and

cheaper price than our previous house.

Janet: Why do you like living here, what do you like about it?

Samantha: I also like the smaller population, though small they have a decent amount of

stores; supermarkets, clothing stores, etc. My job I found good and decent paying job, my

co-working are nice and helpful when I first started. Also I may not be real close with the

neighborhoods I do talk to, they are nice and helpful. Overall it is a pretty decent place to

live.

Janet: What don’t you like about living in Springfield?

Samantha: With the good there is always bad, no place is a Utopia. Though there is not

much if it, when crime does occur it snaps you back and you realize you have to be careful

no matter where you are. It is sad because a few bad seeds can make you wary of everyone

but I guess it is better to be safe than sorry. There is a few places to hang out but there

could be more, I usually go outside of town to see a movie, mall, etc.

Janet: What do you think makes this town like this special or unique?

Samantha: Well it is like most towns though I can say I like the name as it reminds me of

one of my favorite shows. Though obviously a name alone does not make a person like it or

think it is unique esp. since most state are named after this one. However, I think the local

park/playground is a nice place to relax whether you are a kid or adult. They have one of the

best bakery here and pizza place which is usually more crowded on the weekends.

Janet: Do you ever plan on leaving this town in the future? If so, for what reasons?

Samantha: At the moment not really but I can see myself moving out of state in the future.

One main reasons is price of apartments, yes there are OK prices where I am now and my

current apartment but I have heard of some pretty good in the southern states and cheaper

prices. I also just want to not be kept to just one place, Jersey is OK but not the greatest,

there are more states I plant to visit and hope to move to a decent and well priced state and

apartment but now I am mainly saving up money for the future.

Janet: Well that is all for the questions, thank you very much Samantha for giving us some

insight as a resident in this township of New Jersey.

Samantha: You’re welcome, glad to give a point of view about this place from someone who

has lived for quite some time.

Interview with Donald Shaffor.

December 11, 2011

Q: How long have you lived here?

A: Oh, too many years to count. Since before I met Mom-mom.

Q: The same house, right Pops?

A: Yup. Same house. It was white when I bought it though. Thirteen thousand dollars for the whole thing.

Q: What do you like most about living here?

A: It’s little, but we all know each other. The only people that ever lived next door besides Jim and his kids were

Jim’s mom and dad. We all went to school with the guy that owns Dinos down the road. You girls had the same

bus stop your dad did. No one needs to lock their doors or cars or any of that.

Q: What would you change about this neighborhood?

A: The damn ice cream truck comes through right around dinner time. Music’s too loud.