by Janet Smith

Janet Smith photo of Flathead Lake, looking west toward the bird islands:

by Catherine Browning

                                    in my dreams we dance

                                    perfectly matched

                                    to the tune that plays

                                    over and over.

                                    then, like spiders,

                                    we spin our webs over each other

                                    wanting to possess for the moment

                                    the beauty we see . . .

                                    to keep it safe from other eyes;

                                                forgetting that beauty

                                    to be beautiful

                                    must be shared;

                                                forgetting that love

                                    to be love

                                    must be given away;

                                                forgetting that people

                                    are to be cherished

                                    not for the moment but forever.

                                    i cherish you

                                    i am your guardian of beauty.

                                    i don’t possess you–

                                                you are free

                                    but keep always a place

                                    in your soul swept for me

                                    as i keep a place in my soul

                                    for you.

NEXT TIME …

by Catherine Browning

                        next time we meet

                        let’s open the doors separating us

                        so we can hear the words

                        we say and

                        clean the windows of our minds

                        to see clearly the angles

                        of our deception.

                        let’s crawl inside the sun

                        in the name of life and love,

                        remembering that

                        we could get burned.

                        next time we meet

                        it’s possible we will be polite, cool,

                        not knowing the other’s mind,

                        hesitating to be the first

                        to play the fool

                        even if we sacrifice

                        the opportunity to love.

                        let’s run naked through an orange grove,

                        baring even our souls

                        to the sun

                        next time we meet.

The Other Woman

                                                     By Deborah Epperson

I saw her again today,

the other woman in my life.

I was with my daughter, sharing family secrets,

when I heard the other woman’s voice

repeating my words

mocking me, taunting me,

daring me to deny her presence once again.

The first time I saw her, I turned away.

“She’s not real,” I told myself.

“Just the imagination of a middle-aged wife and mother.”

But then, I saw her again in the dress shop,

checking prices first, sizes second.

“Go away,” I ordered. “You’re not welcome here.”

After all, I know who I am, what I like,

and how best to get through the day.

She laughed and said, “Get used to it, honey.

I’m here to stay.”

With each passing year, her intrusions continued,

less subtle, more frequent.

Until at last, I grew weary

of fighting her inevitable presence.

Her influence, I could no longer deny.

More and more, her mannerisms seep inside me.

Qualities I once ridiculed now demand my belated respect.

So in grateful defeat, I wrap myself in her cloak,

letting her wisdom and memories merge with my own

until they are one.

Yes, I saw her again today,

the other woman in my life.

I saw my mother . . . in me.

Montana Women Writers

Macrae’s Gold, by Catherine Browning

In 1907 Alexander Macrae, a man intent on saving his family land, is hired by the Pinkerton Company to protect a shipment of gold heading by train to the Pacific Northwest for the Great Northern Railroad.  While passing through NW Montana, thieves kill a man and steal the payroll, escaping into the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains.  Alex is too late to stop the murder and theft but sees the men riding off into the woods and gives chase.  His goal is to follow the money.

            Alex’s path leads him to Bigfork, Montana and into an acquaintance with Mariah Saunders, a young woman intent on proving herself in spite of family rules and society’s strictures. While enlisting the aid of local law enforcement, Alex finds himself thrown into Mariah’s company.  But when she overhears Alex and her father discussing the theft, and determines to secretly join the search, it starts a chain of events that are disastrous.

            When the payroll is finally found Alex is tempted to keep the payroll in order to dig himself out of his growing financial crisis. But his affection for Mariah is growing, and he is faced with a dilemma:  keep the gold and lose Mariah, or keep Mariah and lose his land?

From the Bavarian Alps and Scandinavia to the Rocky Mountain West, “Voices in the Past” follows the journeys of a family over 200 years of adventures and trials.

A BRAND NEW STAND-ALONE BOOK FROM M.F. ERLER

Will be released May 15, 2021 –

Now Available for Pre-order on Amazon or from First Steps Publishing .