May Statistics

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Total Stories Submitted: 219

Summer

By John Clare

Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come,

For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom,

And the crow is on the oak a-building of her nest,

And love is burning diamonds in my true lover's breast;

She sits beneath the whitethorn a-plaiting of her hair,

And I will to my true lover with a fond request repair;

I will look upon her face, I will in her beauty rest,

And lay my aching weariness upon her lovely breast.

The clock-a-clay is creeping on the open bloom of May,

The merry bee is trampling the pinky threads all day,

And the chaffinch it is brooding on its grey mossy nest

In the whitethorn bush where I will lean upon my lover's breast;

I'll lean upon her breast and I'll whisper in her ear

That I cannot get a wink o'sleep for thinking of my dear;

I hunger at my meat and I daily fade away

Like the hedge rose that is broken in the heat of the day.

Appendix

Short Story Substack Winners (Paid Subscription Unlocks All 42 Stories)

Intimacy Issues - Taking a chance and acting on advice.

The View From Down Here - A story on finding the right words.

The Note in the Wood - On observation.

In Cherry Time - Moral questions and choices.

I Know - Psychological thriller.

Rosemary and Reuben - Life as a perfect dish.

The Museum of Subjective History - Political spiral.

An Echtra - Of magic, mystery, and love.

Fields Where Lilacs Fade - A lot can be said with just a little.

Anomaly - Healing the world.

Seasons Change - Reverse chronology on the choices of life.

Less - Only keep things that spark joy.

A Gentleman of Sterling Character - Character can’t be bought.

Exit Duty - Old teaches young and young teaches old.

Becoming Cheyenne - Identity, friendship, and human nature.

The Imposter Carla Cluckins - Not all stakes must be huge.

Epilogue - It is only through evil that good can be known.

The Magnifying Tongue - Cult and subtext.

SIDESHOW - How many choices do we really have?

It’s Just a Rattlesnake - Magical realism in the desert.

Smiley’s Tavern - On listening and understanding what we hear.

Sweeter Than Honey - Love and magic and art.

One Brief Shining Moment - Conspiracy theory or conspiracy fact?

Ten Seconds - The Devil only wants ten seconds of your life. Do you take the deal?

Bear - Simple and beautiful love between a father, his daughter, and a stuffed bear.

Mr. Harold’s Gift - Not all gifts that are given are well received.

The Mummer’s Parade - Love that is real and true is often messy.

The Garden Club - The power of rumor to destroy. A story that is both fictional and educational.

Depression Séance - Magic is real in the eyes of a child.

Abrama’s Endgame - Sci-Fi look at artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and the struggle to survive.

Do-Over - What happens when you get to re-do your life? What does that answer say about the life that was lived?

Goodbye, Debbie Sue - Freedom on your own terms.

The Pawnshop of Intangible Things - The most valuable things aren’t physical.

Make It a Double - Comparison is the thief of joy.

Worms - Creeping horror.

Do Not Resuscitate - Life’s complex choices in end-of-life care.

I Hate Killing People in Kansas City - An action-packed story better than most movies in the past 20 years.

Sometimes, People Just Have Things They Have To Do - Getting the band back together.

There’s Not Much I Don’t Know - Fatherhood and the instinct to protect.

No Greater Love - Sacrifice in the face of slavery.

Oil On Canvas - The future, and regret, always come.

Blues For Rashid - Music turned into story.

Tools

Webster's 1913 Dictionary - Inspirational dictionary that appreciates the art and beauty of words.

Hemingway App - Online tool that will tighten your writing.

One Look Thesaurus - Wide-ranging thesaurus that goes beyond simple synonyms.

Free Online Short Stories

How To Tell A True War Story - Tale of violence and what it means to know the truth.

Good Old Neon - A look at life and death from a different perspective.

Hills Like White Elephants - One of the best uses of subtext ever.

The Egg - Mind-bending sci-fi look at the reason for humanity.

I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream - Sci-Fi horror about a malevolent AI.

Flowers For Algernon - Looking at the limits of intelligence and love.

To Build A Fire - Tale of survival in the bitter cold.

The Cask of Amontillado - Revenge.

The Garden Of Forking Paths - Spy thriller set in WW2.

Rikki Tikki Tavi - On courage in the face of danger.