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

Crossing

The motor slowed as we crested the wave, then raced as we skidded down into the trough. The emerald green water broke with white bubbly foam. The wind whistled, the sea hissed, and the glasses in the galley clinked. The motion of the boat was not unlike a rocking cradle. The captain was keen to any aberration of motion or sound that indicated something amiss in the rough seas. No rest until we crossed the Strait of Georgia; for now, only the anticipation of a safe harbor with calm waters. Only then a toast offered and enjoyed for safe passage.

Don Chase is a retired adventurer and occasional writer living in Washington state joined by his wife, Kim and his dog, Rocky.


Garden Party

History