Her hand sought mine, and my heart flickered. A tsunami roared in the distance. I laid on the shore of a peculiar island. It was dense with ineffable arrays of bizarre and otherworldly plants. The island towered upward, sharp mountaintops slicing the clouds, ascending, jagged ridges lined with lustrous green life. Natural perfection, yet... Continue Reading →
Since the beginning of this decade, I’ve lived through a winter storm that caused cascading infrastructure failures in Austin, Texas, and a pandemic that affected the entire world. Now, I’m getting to experience a water crisis in Montevideo, Uruguay. Like the United States, Uruguay is good at marketing. Indeed, its...
I see you as wick of this candle,dancing in the midst of its flame.Your moves erotic, yet most holy.Your face orgasmic, thus, beatific.You dance with abandon: the world,dark, save for your movement in flame.Candle now burns down close to its base,yet you keep dancing beyond its wax and fire,carefree as wind that I pray won’t... Continue Reading →
The meadow by the airportis just like any other grasslandbeneath the empyreal bluethat offers late afternoonsof sprawling blades of greendappled by gentle sunlight —except for the intermittentintrusion of a thunderingairborne machineand its passing shadow.The metal carrier's soar or descent breaks the silenceand solemnity of the moment.But oftentimes, it is absent.Sometimes, it’s just a purple kitesteadying itself high above,or... Continue Reading →
We are cups, quietly and constantly being filled. ~Ray BradburyNight kicks in the breaking sunrise as I turn onto BryantAvenue. A brick school unwraps its metal doors for the summer’s unpromotable. Left behind. State exam failed. Children. I’ve memorizedthe number of steps to my school. One hundred-eighty-nine. Seven a.m.I am early. Take out my keys.... Continue Reading →
Jake, night custodian empties the waste basket,asks, tonight? I nod. Alone in my office, I waitto interview for the job. The one I have been doing for the last six months. I am principal, interim-acting.Don’t sweat it. Kick some ass. My husband calls,wishes me good luck at my C-30. Across the sky the moon crawls,... Continue Reading →
ExchangeFriends jibe at mymusic consumptionin inscrutable tongues;I invoke their porn parity.CuspDayspring turns the mostunlovable towns endearingas pompous players plyoutside designated niches.Paucity wakes up for want;privilege thrives at convenience.DelhiEach stopa ceasefirebefore the next battle. Read More in Poetry...
Old Spicedying rich old mangets one final haircut, thencuts off all his heirsSoloWithout a partner,the deaf man dances evenwhen the music stopsPartisanWords of interestoften fail to find purchasewhen bankrupt minds closeTimeSpent sun dies and sinksOcean swallows and forgets —I’m so damned mortal! Read More in Poetry
after Danusha LamerisThere was that morning we drove past stone gates into Strážnice, the green Skoda’s muffler ready to drop, me leaning out the window to take pictures, the Kodak hanging from my wrist on its strap.We wound through narrow streets past patchy gardens, common-wall houses,doors,each its own color, lace curtains waving past sills nested... Continue Reading →
By Kathleen GoldblattJune 7, 2023 We brought her chrysanthemums. On Sunday mornings I filled a tin bucket from the loose steel spigot,carried it down pebbled paths,watered flowers at the stone.Trying not to get grime on my white church gloves, I traced the sunken letters of her name—my name—in grey granite.We stood at the close-cropped mound, heads low, hands... Continue Reading →
