Memory, like a poem, is a made thing.A mixtape of summers past. BlurredPolaroids pinned to a corkboard.Re-captioned in different ink.My wicker nightstand time-capsulesa long ago self: shiny-handled pocketcomb, cherry lip smacker, mood ring.A knotted band—faded and frayed.Gianna and I braided friendshipbracelets and tied them on each other.Wrists thick with candy-colored zig zags.We wore them until... Continue Reading →
In the stone cathedral, I am offered salvation—a paper-thin promise skims my sinner’s tongue. A tiny bud—blue and wanting.I cross myself in practiced devotion.A paper-thin promise skims my sinner’s tongue.I tilt toward the prismed rose window. I cross myself in practiced devotion. Ask the ground for what I need.I tilt toward the prismed rose window,my... Continue Reading →
Mortal and unbaptized in open soilwedded with leathered creosote, cactus wrens,an abandoned microwave, grotty folding chairs,and a wooden headboard half-buried in the sand,I laid down beneath the sun, bright and meanas a hungry skull, searing both the sky and my skininto a mustard color wheel. I stayed. At first,I found familiar things of hope like... Continue Reading →
By Jonathan UkahSeptember 22, 2024 We walk down the streetwith joined hands, twined hearts,staring at the darknessengulfing the closed shutters,shoppers trooping out of shops,mothers shouting at playful children,tugging at husbands’ arms;father’s watching the birds perchon grey roofs with shadowy chimneys,watching girls chatting at the edge of the streets,eyes at the gap between now and tomorrow,listening... Continue Reading →
I found myself watching two grackles in the back parking lot pecking at a vomit stainthey would take turns stopping and staring back at me with mistrustone grackle looked desperatethe other looked bored the desperate one scraped his beak impatiently against the asphalt the bored one pecked softly at one spot after another, as if to say:... Continue Reading →
A draft rufflesmy bedroomon this pollen-bearing night,a novel open before meas TV blares fromdownstairs,voices talkbelow floorboards,and I am alone,blanket pulledover my legsas I turn pages,a page falls,a slow turn,slow like a mothwandering toward light,and a sudden memory flashes:a headstonewith a large winged angel womannear it, like Athena on a grassy hill,the cemetery greennear the pondwe... Continue Reading →
for Mom Sangría and string lights sweet under the olive treesthe stars appearing through gnarled branchesyou yawn like the almost-full moon savingsome of yourself for the night ahead and with a nodand a hand the usher directs everyone into the theaterchatter filling the tall ceiling from which stage lightsdim but bright enough stillto see dust motes... Continue Reading →
When waves hit us, our toes disappeartoo quickly in loose sandand each vacation day fades into shadowlike a seal just below the crest of sea.We are losing this lifetime battle,our bodies too long in our shells.So we practice hiding, disguiseourselves as tourists, three deep against the railof a sightseeing boat. A younghumped back whale throws... Continue Reading →
On July 26th, 1895, in Mannheim, Germany,a mutt by the name Wilson startedthe international canine pastimeof urinating on car tires.A primitive version existedon wagon wheels,but Wilson established for dogkindwhat the pony express was for us.A way for Canis familiaris to communicateacross swaths of territoryat the cost of raising a leg.Brilliant.Passed down across twenty generationsand multiple... Continue Reading →
Tires thrown on the tin rooffor insurance; yellow siding belowcracked and faded.The rusted truck sat on blockssinking into the earth, the fallenred oak doing the same.A suburban in the drivewaynursed a flat with a towel tapedto the window to shield from the draft.A young girl throws a ball for a puppy,then smiles and waves at... Continue Reading →
