A Perfect Place to Feel Lonely Patty Somlo __________ I didn’t intend to be alone at this point. After staying single long enough to worry that I might be alone forever, I went on a blind date. By the time my date and I said goodnight, I’d already fallen a…
Read MoreLove, Life, and Death on the Amazon Steve Bernstein __________ 10/14/15, Amazon purchase: Family Life: A Novel, by Akhil Sharma, Kindle $9.14 We were on call for both moms 24/7. One of the remaining joys my partner and I shared was reading a book together in bed. She read. I…
Read MoreThe Beach at Trouville Sandra Carlson Khalil __________ You had a habit of delighting me, of doing things I thought no other grandmother would do: laughing at your own jokes as food sparked from your mouth, standing barefoot on the couch to recite old-fashioned poetry, and mimicking Bob Ross —…
Read MorePetrichor & Under a sheepskin coat Anna Idelevich __________ Petrichor The earthy smell inherited by ancestorsfrom actinobacteria geosmin,aerosol felt by my eggs,is not indifferent to your artillery salt.It is hypocritical to claim that our love is a series film,a game of incredible scale of galactic empires,perfumery shops with worn-out labels,you…
Read MoreWe Thought It Was Freedom & It Was an Accident, I Swear Kevin Brown __________ We Thought It Was Freedom Every summer, our mother hid our shoes from us. She took our tennis shoes—the knock-off Nikes and Keds we bought at Hills, the knock-off department store that went under before…
Read MoreStop Sign, Where We Were, & Where We Came To Gary Fincke __________ Stop Sign My mother, motionless and unblinking, studied the road for so long I began to imagine my sister and I standing on the shoulder, an ambulance parked nearby. Though I had no idea what her condition…
Read MoreOut of My Hands Gustavo Pérez Firmat __________ It happened one night, not likein the movie. In a rage, lookingfor the empty bottles, I grippedthe 40-lb trash bag carelesslywith three fingers, right and left,the middle, the anular, the pinkie,three times two, six frail failingfingers, incompetently digital,ripping the bag up and…
Read MoreAlpine Clutch, Grief, & Hallucinations Alison Harney __________ Alpine Clutch That summer we climbed a ski slope,a mountain lashed, yellow budsand grasses attempting to cover the scars. The incline leaned close to our chests,as our breath grew shallow and quick.We noticed the insignificance of the village below, how the mazeof…
Read MoreTrip to Joshua Tree, Life Drawing, & Engagement Merridawn Duckler __________ Trip to Joshua Tree Rocks pile up like slabs of clay in a beginner pottery class. We cut them with a wire, my favoritepart. I didn’t care about vessels then. I just wanted to part clay. Humming the U2…
Read MoreLet’s Go For a Walk, Into the Cave, & You Do You Do Ashley Hudson __________ Let’s Go for a Walk Lately we are convincingour friends not to be so cruel to themselves. The magnoliasdropping their annoying empty cups. The tiny cactus giving overone invisible briar. We come to the…
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