Story and Poem of the Month

Our Story and Poem of the Month for May has very kindly been chosen by Di_Hard:

All the gifted writers who posted their wonderful work this month have made choosing only one Story and Poem very difficult, but a great time reading! 

I would like to recommend all of Mark Burrow's intensely moving Breakdowns, in May particularly :

https://www.abctales.com/story/mark-burrow/breakdowns-7-part-i

And a writer new to ABCTales, Aronovitz has started posting a haunting story set around the coming of the railways : 

https://www.abctales.com/story/aronowitz/night-comes-down-chapter-one

While Ewan's story about a future with AI is both believable and horrifying :

https://www.abctales.com/story/ewan/klevra%C2%AE

Celticman creates another memorable character with Malky Mukherjee, raising important points about othering in his powerful story :

https://www.abctales.com/story/celticman/big-people-small-island-small-b...

Everyone who has read an update from Jeand's diary will have been filled with admiration for her resilience and humour - this is just one example :

https://www.abctales.com/story/jeand/cippy-and-bella

Finally, the story of Allen in Alien Murmeration by Vincent Burgess is richly descriptive, sensitive, involving writing.

This part is Story of the Month :

https://www.abctales.com/story/vincent-burgess/alien-murmuration-chapter...

From all the great poems this month, I have particularly enjoyed Jenny's gorgeous account of butterflies and bluebells : 

https://www.abctales.com/story/skinnerjennifer/miracle-spring-gossamer-w...

While Rhiannon finds Nature's wonder in an unlikely place in her stunning poem :

https://www.abctales.com/story/rhiannonw/natural-d%C3%A9cor

And the brilliantly bizarre and endearing characters Jane Hyphen creates here will be unforgettable :

https://www.abctales.com/story/jane-hyphen/ladies-who-lunch-entomol

Marandina's latest poem, recalling a holiday to India, is packed with life, human and animal, and is one of my favourites so far by this writer. 

Ranthambore is Poem of the Month :

https://www.abctales.com/story/marandina/ranthambore