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New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.

Older Daughters Live Twice
You cook, you clean, you become the second mother. The younger kids are your siblings and run to you as if they had no other.
By Yalisa Matos17 days ago in Poets
Love
That first night: the laughter, the music, the love The first date: the music, the poetry, the moon The road trip through a hurricane, my yoga pants ruined by rain, the Violent Femmes, and that morning at the Hirshorn, the Rodin
By Harper Lewis18 days ago in Poets
The Guardian Chapter V
Alexander left his Coming of Age ceremony with Cronos and the elders with as many new questions as he had answers for his old questions. Cronos had confirmed his suspicions were correct. Not only was there a link between the Beast Masters and the inhabitants of the Citadel, but it was the Citadel's fault that the Beast Masters existed in the first place. Instead of banishing the law breakers which allowed them to wreak havoc on the rest of humanity, the Citadel elders should have stripped them of their powers before they became too strong. Now Alexander would need to battle the Beast Masters and the Jikininki. It would be difficult for him to forgive the Citadel Elders because their poor decisions led to the deaths of his parents and more than half the planet's human population.
By Mark Gagnon15 days ago in Chapters
What Happens To Your Brain When You Stop Multitasking
Digital technology is the culprit that is causing us to doom scroll when tired, disengaged and unmotivated with the content that motivated you to log onto your device to consume in the first place. That is only the beginning. In the modern workplace (and even when filing cabinets were around, I confirmed this with my adopted parents to get my facts right); reading files while you are supposed to be present to the caller on the other end of the phone line is another classic example of multitasking that causes your brain (although adaptable and intelligent) to lose focus and concentration.
By Justine Crowley15 days ago in Psyche
Dipped in Candle Wax
After the show, at the end of the day My heart sinks deeper into surrounding tissue My essence molds itself back into existence
By Oneg In The Arctic15 days ago in Poets
Dial One for Heaven
A red phone box stands alone in the middle of a field. Long grass and wildflowers surround it and little else. I make my way over; glad I’m wearing my wellies. I avoid the cow pats along the way and bat a couple of flies from my face.
By N J Delmas14 days ago in Fiction
Seahorse Wisdom
Eat constantly. You’ll never get bored. Suck crustaceans, dance when angered, your growl– will fall like a whisper.
By Teresa Renton17 days ago in Poets
The Tango Connection
I suppose I've become a writer so I wouldn't bore everyone to death telling them my stories. Reading them is reading. Not the same. There's rhythm. And timing and, most importantly, drama and suspense. Unless you have tremendous magnetism and an undeniable stage presence, there's no way you can engage an audience the way you can by writing your story. That's my opinion.
By Rene Volpi 15 days ago in Beat
Let It Flow
a creeping feeling engulfed my body muscles heavy but elastic mysterious beat ramping up slowly evocative and animastic I pump myself out of the deep pocket
By K.B. Silver 18 days ago in Poets
Poor Memory
I have always wanted a bouquet of friends. Colorful, vivid with the scent of life. One of each of my favorite flowers Plucked from a year, a generation, a time.
By Silver Daux18 days ago in Poets
February the Fiery Month
I have been trying not to get totally consumed by the Winter Olympic Games from Italy. They seem to be televised almost 24 hours a day. If it is not live, then it is a replay.
By Calvin London17 days ago in FYI
The Peasant and the Devil: The Unwritten Ending
Once upon a time, there was a crafty and far-sighted peasant. Anyone with a parent who read them a copy of "Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales" as a child knows the tale of the farmer who bested the Devil in a game of wits. However, I happen to know what became of the farmer after the fairy tale ends. You see, dear reader, all legends and myths have a basis in truth, but once a dozen or so generations of story-tellers come and go, all having added their own little twists and embellishments and sensitivities, things tend to get hidden or disappear altogether. That is when folks of good authority (such as yours truly) come out of the woodwork to set things straight.
By Ian Read15 days ago in Fiction
Jack’s Met Someone Special
‘I wonder what this one will be like?’ Janice spooned a dollop of Bolognese from the pan and popped it into her mouth, savouring the flavours before swallowing.
By Matthew Batham15 days ago in Fiction
On nothing in particular.
It's never asked all too seriously. Just a question, passing by. - What do you do for fun? I say I like to write. - What do you write about?
By Latisha Jean20 days ago in Poets
The Guitar Playing Cowboy
He never arrived the ordinary way. No horse at the gate. No spurs clinking. No gravel crunching beneath hooves. If anyone had been watching from a distance, they would have sworn nothing approached at all.
By Leeza-Bridget Cooper15 days ago in Fiction
I Don't Need My Phone... Wait, Is That Actually True?
My parents gave me my first cell phone when I was twelve years old. It wasn't a fancy iPhone or anything, not even close. Just a simple black flip phone for when I needed to call or text them after school.
By Madison "Maddy" Newton16 days ago in Humans
No-one learns to sail without first lifting the anchor. Runner-Up in Instructions for a Feeling Challenge.
I know, you want to turn away, For me to teach you how To make walls so thick that pain accumulates Like leaves, decomposing in the external shadow.
By Hannah Moore18 days ago in Poets
A Monk, The Om, A Metronome
David Harlann had spent 14 years as a field medic. The horrors of mangled bodies and shot-off limbs were commonplace to him. Just another Tuesday strewn with blood.
By Gabriel Shames16 days ago in Fiction
room for rage. Runner-Up in Instructions for a Feeling Challenge.
let it out. . start with the plates: break them. watch them shatter on graffiti-covered concrete. scream. scream until you've shredded your voice, your lungs, your throat to
By Raistlin Allen20 days ago in Poets
Part 2 Interview With Joe Patterson, Author Of Melanin Memoirs
This is my second interview with Joe Patterson. His 4th anniversary writing on Vocal will be in March 2026. He has one achievement on Vocal, The Other Foot. He has over 17,000 reads on Vocal since he started on Vocal in 2022. Joe Patterson is very creative poet and rapper. Joe is deep thinker and I feel it is reflected in his latest published book, Melanin Memoirs.
By Mariann Carroll16 days ago in Interview