Issue 4
By Linda M. Crate
purple shell
serendipity granted you
that sand dollar,
while the ocean whisked
away the agony of
my heart;
a part of me was jealous
but i thought maybe
you needed to remember
just as badly as i needed
to forget the one who had
wounded me—
but then serendipity handed
me a purple shell as if
to lessen the blow
of my disappointment,
showing me i still had beautiful
things in life to discover
and those beautiful things
may even discover me.
Linda M. Crate (she/her) is a Pennsylvanian writer who has fifteen published chapbooks the latest being: not your piñata (Alien Buddha Publishing, June 2025). Autumn is her favorite season. In addition to writing Linda loves the fantasy genre (both books and films), nature walks, vampires, the occult, mysticism, mythology, spending time with family and friends, music, dancing, singing, photography, art, unexpected adventures big and small, museums, visiting the forest or any waters including the ocean.