Five Minutes explores five minutes of a life in one hundred words. Five minutes is edited by Susanna Baird, with editorial support from managing editor Maria s. picone, newsletter editor kate meen, and founding reader bobbi lerman, plus our rotating team of guest readers, who you can meet in the latest newsletteR. Five Minutes was founded in October 2020, with the Salem (Mass.)-based writing group Carrot Cake Writers supplying the journal’s first pieces. We’d love to read your five. Submit here

Bobby's Tree

We lined up at the door. Boys on the right, girls on the left. Miss Harvey announced that Bobby’s parents wanted to dedicate a tree for him. He was in our class before he died. One day he threw up, his mother took him home, and he never returned. On this spring day we gathered at the newly planted sapling near the playground. Bobby’s parents stood side by side, heads bowed. Our principal spoke. The class was quiet, even the boys who usually misbehaved. Leaves on the small tree rustled in the breeze. Two lines filed back into the school.

Lois Villemaire writes poetry and memoir. She is inspired by researching family history and life experiences. She lives in historic Annapolis, MD. Find Lois on Twitter @Loisville and on Instagram @loisdale.

Without Words

It's a Boy