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A Finch Breakfast

A Finch Breakfast Erik Peters __________ The air was already sweaty with summer heat. Early morning rays beat fiercely on the curtains. The living room was stifling, but if I could get a through-draft, it might be bearable by evening. I shuffled to the sliding door, rubbing sleep out of…

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Flash in the Pan, Fry the Chicken, & First Holiday, Post-Divorce

Flash in the Pan, Fry the Chicken, & First Holiday, Post-Divorce Colleen Harris __________ Flash in the Pan I sway in the kitchen betweencabinet and stove, catchingthe rhythm my father taught me. I sweep from drawer, to pan,to fridge and back. In the emptyspace over my shoulder I hear him,…

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Christ & Lucifer Share Cacio e Pepe on Arthur Avenue

Christ & Lucifer Share Cacio e Pepe on Arthur Avenue Maureen Martinez __________ …seize it with both hands and make the most of it. – Al Capone There’s a notorious Italian restaurant on a corner of Arthur Avenue in the Bronx where an infamous mob boss was shot in the…

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Our Day of the Dead & Vanilla Kipfel

Our Day of the Dead & Vanilla Kipfel Steven Luria Ablon __________ Our Day of the Dead We bring bacon and peanut butter sandwiches,root beer floats, fried catfish. We bringwiener schnitzel, food that our dead loved. We bring photos of friends and family,my grandmother sitting on a benchon the boardwalk…

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Cobbling Apples

Cobbling Apples Kim Malinowski __________ Do not peel your apple.It is a waste of time.Some vitamins mightsurvive to taste. Slice neatly.Quarter then quarterthen quarter.Cut out the core.Spit over your righthip and throw saltover your left shoulder.Do not cut yourself.Blood enhances lovenot flavor. Measure the maple syrup.1/3 cup. Then pour a…

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Boiled Down

Boiled Down Angela Townsend __________ I never have to eat a hard-boiled egg again. No adult of any species should even think these words. But you cannot betray yourself without philandering against language, and I have committed adultery. It seemed reasonable at the time. Reason wears stain-resistant shirts. All I…

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Last Thanksgiving

Last Thanksgiving Shirlee Jellum __________ Candles flickered on window sills and tables, golden light reflected on glass and polished wood, a warm welcome to family members arriving for the holiday feast. A centerpiece graced the dining room table—a handmade bouquet of crimson maple leaves, snowberries, rosehips and dried seedpods. Platters…

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in houses of stolen bones

in houses of stolen bones Peach Delphine __________ what remains what lives within our wordsours alone                   progress incremental visibility necessity we are not coin in your currency salt bartered flesh expendable bitches voices unfiltered rolling off Gulf                                                   tangle lightning  wash your greens in three watersfor luck                stem tear wash again progress        incremental clear onions bacon…

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Pièce de Résistance

Pièce de Résistance Jane Blanchard __________ I wondered if this gatheringWould prove a bit too challenging,But so far it is going fine—Or well enough—for me and mine.Once soft or stiffer drinks are gone,The potluck supper can move on.Our host serves seasoned roasted lamb;Our hostess offers glazed baked ham.The slightly stressful…

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The Stretch

The Stretch Mehreen Ahmed __________ Even if I were to bark up the wrong tree, so be it as long as I am barking something. I don’t know how to climb a tree. Wrongs can’t be right until a climb has ensued. I slide many times before I correct my…

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