Author: Auroras & Blossoms Page 4 of 36

We live and breathe PoArtMo (Positive Actions Rally Thoughts & Momentum). We are inclusive and family-friendly. Join us!

‘Spring Night’ – Wenyi Xiao

The sky wine drunk, whispering
Funny sounds like fool birds.
Under the lamplight
The scent of my perfume mixed with April flora
The empty lanes paved with footsteps
The playgrounds stare blank into the deep air
My ear against your orange flanneled chest
Heart beats like drops of crystal

About Wenyi Xiao

Wenyi Xiao is an emerging bilingual poet based in Beijing and a graduate student in English Literature at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Her research focuses on feminist poetics, genre studies, and narratology; and her creative writing explores the boundaries of form, language, identity.

Wenyi’s work will be featured in Fresh Words: Voices Unbound—An Anthology of International Poetry.


Get featured on the blog. Submit your work today!

‘Sometimes’ – Raz Shacham

Sometimes I wait for the results of a mammogram
and envision my end.
Sometimes I bite into a pepper far too hot,
to scorch hellfire on my tongue —
to remind myself I still am.
Sometimes I press through invisible walls
and catch the world’s hush of beauty
in my mind’s window frame.
Sometimes I watch my son grow tall before me
and let myself believe
I’ve done at least one thing right
to honor my name.
Sometimes I cry out to heavens,
and God answers —
with the purr of a cat,
the soft coo of a dove,
the warmth that moves through me
when I am held
in the arms of my love.
Sometimes I don’t need to be anyone,
or anything.
I simply live —
a quiet link
in a chain of eternity,
fulfilling a promise
etched deep in me:
to truly be.

About Raz Shacham

Raz Shacham is an Israeli mom, a translator, a naturopath, and a writer.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/raz.shacham


Get featured on the blog. Submit your work today!

Special Announcement!

Hello everyone,

We are very excited to announce that A Warm Mug of Cozy has joined the Auroras & Blossoms family!

A Warm Mug of Cozy

We launched A Warm Mug of Cozy in October 2022 to celebrate and promote cozy mysteries. After two very successful volumes in our yearly Warm Mug of Cozy Anthology, we felt that it would be a great idea to expand our offering.

What does this mean? That we now accept all genres, as long as they follow the cozy concept.

We define cozy stories as stories that promote kindness, community, comfortable settings (e.g. bakeries, libraries, nature…), rich sensory descriptions, and character growth, while staying away from gory and graphic details.

A Warm Mug of Cozy is now seeking submissions of short stories on a rolling basis. Accepted stories will be published on our blog.

Of course, it is free to submit to us for potential feature on the blog. But donations help us stay afloat.

Auroras & Blossoms

On another note, Auroras & Blossoms is also seeking blog submissions on a rolling basis. And we still have a few spots left for our PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 6!

For those who don’t know us yet, PoArtMo stands for “Positive Actions Rally Thoughts & Momentum,” a concept based on the following tenets:

  1. Family-friendliness & clean language
  2. Positivity and upliftment
  3. Inclusivity and respect for all.

Inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month), PoArtMo seeks to promote positive and inspirational art and creativity.

Every year, the Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology offers a selection of works (poetry, stories, photography, drawings, paintings…) from Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, Azelle Elric, Marjolein Rotsteeg, and special guests ages 17 and over.

We hope that you will send us your work.

Have a great weekend!

Cendrine and David

Submissions are open for ‘A Warm Mug of Cozy: Volume 3’!

Hello everyone,

Happy new year! We wish you the best for 2025, especially great success with all your writing endeavours. We also hope that you had a wonderful holiday season. 

This email is your official invitation to submit your work for potential inclusion in Volume 3 of our annual Warm Mug of Cozy Anthology. We are starting things early this year because our goal is to try and release two volumes this year! 

Our official submission guidelines can be found here: https://warmmugofcozy.com/anthology-submission

Please submit to us no later than March 31, 2025. 

We can’t wait to read your gripping stories again! 

Cendrine & David

Submissions are open for ‘The PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 6’!

Hello everyone,

Happy new year! We wish you the best for 2025, especially great success with all your creative endeavours. We also hope that you had a wonderful holiday season. 

Just a quick note to let you know that we are back in action. We are now accepting a limited number of participants for the sixth volume of our PoArtMo Anthology.

Every year, The PoArtMo Anthology offers a selection of inspirational and uplifting works (poetry, stories, photography, drawings, paintings…) from Cendrine Marrouat, David Ellis, Azelle Elric, Marjolein Rotsteeg, and special guests ages 17 and over.

Are you a storyteller or artist? If so, we would love to hear from you! Please email us for consideration at info@abpositiveart.com by March 31, 2025. In your message, include the following information:

  1. Short bio (third person) + link to your website.
  2. Work samples: 250 words maximum (writers) and/or 2 images maximum (visual artist). PDF documents or JPG files only!
  3. Explain why you think your work would fit our PoArtMo Anthology.

Please note that the samples you send us will help us determine if you are the right fit. They will NOT be used in any of our anthologies.

Submission guidelines are only accessible to selected participants.

We cannot wait to read you!

Cendrine & David

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