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

Up Again

It's only six a.m., why am I up this early? The house is empty, there's no child to feed, even the cats are sleeping (as they do). Well, time for quick ablutions, find my gear in the dark, and try to dress quietly. I walk downstairs carefully, without sight. The water bottle needs filling, and my keys get tucked into the waiting coat. Minutes later, just as the steering wheel begins to warm, I pull in at my destination and enter to the sounds of clanging steel and exhalations through masks. Another day at the gym. Another dark, early day.

Josh Turiel is a tech professional, amateur politician, and frustrated author in Salem. Website: joshturiel.com Twitter: @JoshTuriel Instagram: @jturiel


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Wild Horses