When we first moved out to the country,my father burned our paper trash in a metal barrelin the meadow above the stone wall.I believe he thought this was something that went alongwith owning house and land, a kind of self-sufficiency.The match would catch a corner, blue edgespreading, leaving behind a ripple of black ash.After which... Continue Reading →
Shall we have smoked alphabet today?can't beat g dipped in French Onion sauceand v sparkles while cooking, but I would suggest letting it cool a little bitA dangles alone, make sure you have the tongs handy soit doesn't fall directlyon the coalseven a burnt b is good, the center remains soft, like an appropriatemarshmallow I would... Continue Reading →
High in the rafters of Earth,a ventriloquized voice beckonsour species from the first eutherian mammalto the Anthropocene, our hapless current epoch.Régimes whisper to extinctions.My mammalian body is dutifulat its mammogram.I am moved to tears again.The groove in my left breast“tissue sparing.” They said, “clean margins.”What is more powerful than allsocial media in its ferventecho chamber... Continue Reading →
Mike’s audio connected to Zoom and what had been a budding cynicism now bloomed. New-age Indian flute music and a synthesizer beat whistled through the speakers. The teacher’s screen showed a stone buddha, the fat and happy one, resting atop a bookshelf. It looked down at Mike. Twirly bamboo in a glass vase sat next... Continue Reading →
You were right, dad. They did.Yet, apparently, some brains grow back.I left him after twenty years. Maybethat’s how long it takes. Now, over my shoulder,your framed face, laughing, happy,though you can’t see me here,thing among my things: dictionaries,bird knick-knacks, mostly owls,and my trusty Magic 8 Ball that I don’ttrust anymore. Outside the freezing rainfallis like... Continue Reading →
The parking lot outside the mega-church was only half-full. Behind it a big sky, almost uncluttered by high-rises. Ruth didn’t even know this area existed until a couple of months ago. Now the drive up here had become their new rhythm, and she made sure she didn’t miss a beat. She drove here, dropped Melody... Continue Reading →
When the elevator malfunctioned we went from strangers to friends to casual dating but eventually could deny our love no more than a bird its song, and in those cramped quarters we saw our kids off to college, watched our 401k ebb and flow with the slow motion histrionics of a glacier’s migration, and when... Continue Reading →
The steps were simple: first, knock on the door; then you have two options: if someone answers, you tell them you are looking for Rodney Steele, that you’re there for his drains. We were dressed as plumbers. After they tell you they are not Rodney Steele, then you apologize for the mistake and move on... Continue Reading →
E-man, Electric ManModern Superman, goes electricall powerful, glowing with sparksthat twinkle in the eyesdark lightning in the mirror.Electricity -- what is it?if you touch it you get shocked,why not let go?is it solid like a bug, a fireflyin a jar -- when a chargeis inside the battery, does it weigh more?when current runs through wiresis... Continue Reading →
I remember asking youwas it a coyotebut I knew he would have taken youI came closeryou couldn't runI nudged youthere was no bloodyour ears laid backand I stroked that soft inner spacebetween my fingers.I never thoughtthe wildness in youwould ever let me hold youbut there we sat a whileyou in my lapI felt the length... Continue Reading →
