Stories

A quick announcement: we have put up an archive of all* the short stories of Stephen Brooke, both published and unpublished, realistic and fantasy. Feel free to browse through them at https://storiesofstephenbrooke.blogspot.com/ Remember that some are gathered in collections available at Arachis Press.

*not including a couple 'adult' pieces, that may be found at Arachis Press.

A Winter Poem

The kitchen becomes my world on these cold days,
  revolving around a book and a cup of tea.
Let the north wind call at window and door;
  let her voice lose itself among the trees.
These days come and go, clad in their darkness,
  and I remain until I may seek spring.

Stephen Brooke ©2024

not exactly a sijo but in the shape of one

Dark Gardens, a poem

 Dark Gardens

I have hungered but I have not starved;
I have worshiped each vain idol carved
by desires sharpened to a knife,
by the fires that have hollowed life,
left me empty of all wants and needs
and the comfort of all empty creeds.

Hollowed now, I leave myself unguarded,
followed by those dreams thought best discarded;
facets of perception catch and bind me
as kaleidoscopic visions blind me.
Rise up every star I wished upon;
to dark gardens comes unruly dawn.

Whisper to those fading lights above,
what of those we need too much to love?
Owls cry messages across the night,
ask what litanies I might recite —
shadowed prayers for sins too small to number;
in dark gardens I and they seek slumber.

Stephen Brooke ©2024

Possibly finished form (or close to it), but drafts are ever subject to change.

On Abortion

Abortion access shows up on several state ballots this year, including here in Florida. I favor the amendment here. Being quite libertarian, I absolutely believe in the right of a woman to control her own body. The question then becomes whether or not another body is involved. Just when does a fetus become (or should be considered as) a human person?

No one can honestly claim to know. We may have our beliefs but those beliefs can not be forced on others. This is why I advocate a sensible compromise, whether it be ‘viability’ or ‘quickening.’ Setting the cutoff at less (or banning abortion altogether) is very much imposing ones beliefs rather than depending on any sort of medical knowledge.

I personally dislike abortion and would prefer it only be a resort when the woman’s health is in serious danger. It is not for me to impose that view on anyone else. It must remain a choice for the woman, ultimately—not the state, not the doctors.

And definitely not you and me.