Tongues click White gloves sweep tables, until grey Clasped hands cry conformity Like a muted scream in sign language As lips lecture Biblical quotes Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Eyes scan and fall upon An unmade bed Or a dirty dish Ocular glares Filthy lazy child! Blares An encapsulated bullhorn Shatters bifocals Leaving piercing shards upon the floor Which cut my feet.
Photo by David Stroup
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
H2O: The one molecule that is common to all life here on Earth. Water. We drink it. We exhale it. Our very blood is made of it. When it is near we are calmed. The sight of river, pool, sea, or rivulet turns furrowed brows into softened gazes. The sound of liquid water quiets the chatter of worried voices, soothing din strained ears. The taste of the cool liquid on tongues renews one’s strength. Its touch cleanses, exhilarates, and revives.
If I were a single molecule of this amazing compound where might I journey? What wonders might I behold? Who might I become a part of? What life might I sustain? Or inspire? As I follow this path From cloud To droplet To rivulet To pool
And rivers large and small.
Frozen in ice and snow. Traveling from sky to mountain to valley. And finally colliding with oceans and seas in an endless cycle of constant change.
Become the nomad. Drift over the Rocky Mountains. Roam the falls of Yosemite. Trek across the Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands. Feel the sulfuric mist of lava meeting salty sea. Or join in the warm humid breeze of a tropical night. Then turn back
A hitchhiker on a trade wind. Blow north. Rest in the frozen tundra of Alaska. Or bob on a glacial ice floe. Bring life to the forest there. Smile at the good works you have done. Sail across the world. Find another continent. Join in the changes of the centuries. From rings of stone to castles to the modern. River Thames, Arno, and Tiber fueling the growth of European industry.
Stretch out your arms and touch the past. Return home. See the small pools and fountains minds have designed. To bring peace to a park or a field. Or a home.
Dip your hands in. Let the water fall between your fingers. Cleansing you. Renewing your spirit. Making you ever thankful for this wonder, this life-giving compound.
H2O.
Photos by David Stroup
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
Fantastically original concept,” says one Artania reviewer, while another describes it as, “an art-born world full of prophecies, enchanted creatures, and wishes that come true.” Laurie Woodward is a multi-award-winning author and screenwriter who brings wonder to life through her novels, screenplays, and blog. Her published works include the coming-of-age novel Finding Joy, The Artania Chronicles fantasy series, the middle-grade adventure Forest Secrets, and numerous short stories and poems. Across every project, Laurie champions hope, resilience, and empowerment, showing that true strength is found in staying authentic—whether facing bullies in the real world or dark forces in fantasy. Her work has won awards from L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest, been featured in A Hudson View Poetry Digest, and reached the screen through projects like the anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. She also co-wrote the memoir Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy, featured in the IMAX film Dolphins, Robin Williams’ In the Wild, and Animal Planet. A former bilingual teacher and peace consultant, Laurie’s lifelong mission is to inspire others through art. She believes that when creativity is nurtured, it can birth incredible things—films, stories, and songs that change the world.
Recently I’ve seen a lot of writers posting about the dangers of AI. In all of them, I see a common theme. Fear. Many are concerned that their livelihoods are being threatened. But they are only looking at the external.
For me, writing is so much more than a royalty check. Writing is what helps me define who I am, what my purpose is, and how I can live a life of intention. AI will never be able to replace that. When I write and it’s really flowing everything else just fades away. I don’t just imagine the story, I live it. How many times have I cried, laughed, and been terrified along with my characters? More than I can count. When I write, I feel empowered and peaceful in a way that makes every other endeavor pale.
That’s why I write. It is a gift I unwrap for myself every day.
Photo by David Stroup
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
I had a sublime love once, A love of salt and sea and skin With quivering lips Where every song was him And poetry filled my heart. But now it’s gone And all I’m left with is The specter of transcendent embrace Floating in memory.
Photos by David Stroup
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
I said as you fought for each rattling inhalation.
Stroking your hands and hair
Until your body could fight no more.
It has been a year since I heard you take your final breath.
A year of no, “Guess what the kids are doing?”
Or asking which recipe to use for the holiday meal.
Four seasons come and gone.
Without you rolling your eyes
At my silly jokes.
Or telling me, “Don’t worry about it Laurie.”
When I fretted over the unimportant.
Twelve months
Without your embrace.
Three hundred sixty-five days
Of joy
I didn’t share with you.
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
He stands. Outside a plate glass window This cold November eve Gazing at the jumbled display Of lanterns on parade Whose off kilter shades. Illuminate no one.
Taking notice of the uniform chaos He pauses to capture Their motionless march.
While beyond the glass In the secondhand shop Of old books, chipped dishes, and worn chairs A quartet of bulbs awaits Circuits opening to electrons’ release Allowing them to proclaim I shine!
But when switches are flipped Their expected exultations Are replaced with photons On a bent and diffused path Traveling the myth Of the luminiferous ether.
(Photo by Leland Zaitz)
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
Without touch We are a dead sea Where tides rise and fall On a barren shore
Without family We are an endangered species A wraith of a white rhino Waiting in vain for a mate That never comes
Without love We are but hollow shells Exoskeleton crustaceans Branded by the noonday sun
Alone We are but specimens in a zoo We pace before the bars Of a hundred onlookers Searching each face In despair.
Photo by David Stroup
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
About Laurie: The author of Forests Secrets and Finding Joy as well as The Pharaoh’s Cry, Portal Rift,Persistence of Memory, Kidnapped Smile, and Dragon Sky of the fantasy series The Artania Chronicles, Laurie Woodward is also a screenwriter who co-authored Dean and JoJo: The Dolphin Legacy. Her poetry has been published in multiple journals and anthologies and she was a collaborator on the popular anti-bullying DVD Resolutions. Bullied as a child, Laurie is an award-winning peace consultant, poet, and blogger who helps teach children how to avoid arguments, stop bullying, and maintain healthy friendships. She writes on the Central Coast of California. More about her work can be found at Author Laurie Woodward — Next Chapteria.net
Laurie Woodward 