What the Heart Knows is Possible

May you know gentleness in a carnivorous world.

May you have radiant moments of wonder and amazement.

May you have a bright insistence for learning, inspired by passion.

May you have a few genuine things at the end of the day that make you smile.

May you retain a childlike hope and trust in others and know mutual ongoing love.

May you remember the rain nourishes the flowers just as much as the sun.

May you sow seeds of peace with acts of kindness.

May you follow your curiosity with a sense of adventure.

May you be brave with your life and generous with your talents.

May you find your voice and know your story matters.

May you keep room in your heart for the displaced and the lost.

May you hold an appreciation for the splendor of simple daily joys in your soul.

T. Liptak 

"The Long Road" Wins an Honorable Mention in the Lorian Hemingway Contest

 I'm thrilled to announce that my story "The Long Road" won an Honorable Mention in the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Contest. Lorian, the granddaughter of literary giant, Ernest Hemingway, was one of the judges.

The story was based on the lyrics of the song by the same name written by Eddie Vedder (my muse) and played by Pearl Jam.

My "Wistful Thinking" Flash Fiction Featured in Writer's Digest Magazine

 Absolutely thrilled to have won the Flash Fiction Contest featured in the Nov./Dec. issue of Writer's Digest Magazine. Thanks to the editors, friends, and family that voted. 

My essay, "Thank You, Mr. Rogers, is included in Living on Covid Time. A thoughtful anthology that contains moving stories from women all over the country sharing their experiences and thoughts during the pandemic. It's available at Amazon. com and Barnes and Noble. 

Writer's Digest Flash Fiction Finalist

 I'm thrilled to be one of the five finalists for Writer's Digest magazine's current flash fiction contest. You look at a photo prompt and submit your story of 650 words or less. The editors pick five of the submissions for the readers to vote on. My story is "Wishful Thinking", and it was fun to write. Tally Sullivan just walked right onto the page and started talking. LOL! 

Thank you, WOW - Women on Writing

 I'm honored that my flash fiction piece placed in the Top Ten at Wow - Women on Writing. You can read the story here:

Under the Stars

A Walk at Nightfall

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Bible in hand, a solitary soul bellows his message of gloom.
His words are thorns that pierce the stillness

until the last scrap of daylight slips away and,

he disappears into the darkness.

Then, a radiant night, wrapped in peace.

Colored lights wink red, green, and blue from rooftops,

festive along the almost empty, narrow pathway.

Giant candy canes and toy soldiers greet us.

Plastic sentinels of Christmas cheer.

A crisp winter chill kisses our cheeks.

Children’s voices ring in the air.

Bells of energy and freedom.

Their joy loud and contagious.

We stroll along, calling out greetings.

Naked windows of cozy homes dressed

in their holiday finest reveal merrymakers in good cheer,

cocktails in hand.

Their warmth beckons to passersby.  

May every dark night 

have its cheerful golden light,

to chase away the gloom.

Remember this. Live it.

Teri Liptak

Struggle

I am . . .

   corruption

and

    redemption,

    sinner

and

    saint,

   the sacred

and

    the profane,

    the hello

and

    the goodbye,

    a truth

 and

    a lie,

    doubt

and

    trust

    hopes

and

    fears,

    lost

and

    found,

    problem

and

    solution,

    rising

and

    falling,

Again and again. In one breath.

A delicate balance of the human equation.

In the sight of heaven

and

    hell.

T. Liptak

Art of Peace Anthology Presentation - 2017

Building Bridges

Children's Wall-hanging

It was an honor to have my poem, "He Doesn't Make a Sound" included in the 2017 Art of Peace - Building Bridges Anthology. Thanks so much to Anne McCrady and Ann Faulkner for an inspiring evening.

He Doesn’t Make a Sound

No angry fists thrown in the air.
Only a five-year-old boy, dazed and bloodied,
in the back of a war-rattled ambulance.
His black silken hair powdered white with the rubble of his homeland.
No cries. No tears. Not a sound.
Born into a world that turns away.
A future as fragile as dust.
Yet, his face transcended borders and captured the heart of the world.
For a fleeting moment, one small Syrian child became everyone’s small child.
Then, we got busy with our own lives. Our own children.

We moved on. We forgot.

In this shrinking, wounded world, we must not live as strangers,
but learn to share a grief that is not our own.
Open up. Live deeper.
Make outraged noise for a child muted by bombs.
What we think we know about each other builds walls.
What we come to know about each other builds bridges.
Remember the displaced and the lost, who yearn for a stronghold.
Their dream of peace, evergreen and universal.
Hope of a better world for one’s children,
the common thread that connects us all in this tapestry of life.

                                                                                           T. Liptak