Poem: Phoenix of the Blue Sea

Her eyes are so familiar
Blue like the infinite ocean

His smile is so familiar
Like the warmth of the Spanish sun

In each others arms memories
Weave across time to the present

Short Story: Dinner with the Devil

He’d used his favorite santoku knife to cut his wrists in the kitchen of his restaurant.

His reviews had been going downhill for years. He was trying to keep up with the demand to create something new and something extraordinary. It was never enough. Spending all his time cooking, he couldn’t do what he loved—traveling the world to new places and trying more cuisine—the lifeblood of his creativity.

The last review was the final straw. A two-word headline—Has Been—followed by less than a hundred and fifty word write up. In his prime, he’d get the cover of magazines and entire feature write-ups.

He was tired. No longer seeming worth it, he’d used his tools on himself. Blades so sharp he hadn’t even felt a cut.