×

SmokeLong Quarterly

Share This f l Translate this page

Fridge Flash: Peace by Maya Bolden

November 9, 2020

The crumple of crunchy test paper made my mouth go dry.
I wished to go back to botanical fields…where the flowers bloomed, where it was covered with a sheet hiding me from the world, my magical place where I could run through hills of colorful roses or sit on a curvy bench writing away.
I ran out of the class, my face wet and blotchy, I ran all the way home, my feet traveling faster than my brain. Finally, I swung open my back door and ran into the tunnel leading me to my magical oasis, finally at peace.
___________________

Maya is a young Black girl creative who thrives in several art forms. Her poetry is uniquely deep and original and her art has been recognized at the state level by the National Beta Club, qualifying her for national competition. When she’s not creating interior design homes on Adopt Me, she’s taking performing arts classes or designing her next fabulous outfit.

ornament

Support SmokeLong Quarterly

Your donation helps writers, editors, reviewers, workshop leaders, and artists get paid for their work. If you’re enjoying what you read here, please consider donating to SmokeLong Quarterly today. We also give a portion of what we earn to the organizations on our "We Support" page.

The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest

Deadline November 15th!

The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest (The Mikey) is now an annual competition celebrating and compensating the best micro fiction and nonfiction online.

The grand prize winner of The Mikey is automatically nominated for Best Small Fictions and any other prize we deem appropriate. In addition, we will pay the grand prize winner $1000. Second place: $500. Third place $300. Finalists: $100. All finalists and placers will be published in the December ’25 issue of SmokeLong.

Previously published as well as previously unpublished work will be considered.