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 →
“He heard the rhythmic troubling obscenities of saxophones.”William Faulkner, Soldier’s PayI met Wayne Shorter in a dreamsomewhere in a sunny club,light pouring through the windows,bouncing off the beach,slinging diamonds off eachcresting wave. He smiled,picked up his tenorand started playing Footprints,the repetition of the riffbecoming a prayer, notesblending with the waves, therhythm becoming a chant,the shore... Continue Reading →
Look mama by the mailbox didn’t the flowers just come out they’re already dyingWill he cut one of meto fadefar from my familydisplayedin glass so he need notstoop and rememberdirthimself unselved in Spanish today we learned selva means forestanything that decomposes words into letters in English class we’re singing w x y and z now... Continue Reading →
the egrets have returnedafter the pyrotechnicsthe screeching and suddenpopsafter the noise cannonsthe lasers and the loppingoff of thick branchesafter men in hazard suitsstumble about cursingcomplaining of the smellwar against white birdswith crowns resting atopcurved necksevery day they flyto the landfillto snack on insectsbuzzing above garbageand interfere with aircraftaccording to the Air Forceaccording to the cityand... Continue Reading →
A whisper mere rustle of wind oran exhalation-howcan it haveconsciousness yetjust below the threshold ofhuman perception it voicedthoughtvibrations, which her violin resonated with-disquieting,leaving her wondering who was out there, invisible but present or prescientperhaps decedent? “Dad?” her father an immigrant peasanthis passion for musicgifted to her- Dead Silenceshe sighs, picks up her bow andon... Continue Reading →
