The Year of the Cauliflower Lucy Duggan __________ The worst Thanksgiving dish I ever tasted was a lemon and lavender cauliflower cheese baked by my Aunt Bristol. She was an excellent cook. People always said so. In fact, they said: “Whatever else they say about your Aunt Bristol, she’s certainly…
Read MoreA 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…
Read MoreFlash 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,…
Read MoreChrist & 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…
Read MoreOur 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…
Read MoreCobbling 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…
Read MoreBoiled 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…
Read MoreLast 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…
Read Morein 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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