by Trish Annese I meet M. in Prague on a lonesome Sunday in March as I chase a lost turquoise scarf down an asphalt alley and she retrieves it, stepping from the recesses of a darkened doorway—a mistress of ceremonies stepping into the spotlight—and restoring it to me with a…
by Meri Parker Camp, near Saratoga, New York Oct. 18, 1777 My dear Frances, I finally have joyful news to share with you. After 33 days of fighting and bloodshed, General John Burgoyne has formally surrendered to our General Horatio Gates, after requesting a ceasefire five days ago following his…
by Jim Kraus Past the line of stones,watch out for the kiawe, its thorns.Then run across the hot sand to the cool water,its soft, long syllable,line after line, vast ridgesof golden sand, each grain now a unit of money.Portable real estate,the beach a mint to be mined and exchanged. Sand…
by Joseph Dehner “Be the best,” John’s father told him on his tenth birthday. But then Dad injected a correction that would burrow like a parasite into John’s memory. “What I mean is, John, be the best that you can be.” John ripped off the gift wrap and gushed, “Wow,…
by Caroline Maun If I was showing you the house,I’d be sure to mention the century cactus,no longer there, that sent up its flagpole-sized stamenbefore collapsing under its own weight. I’d point outthe royal palm that started to fruit in 1973, and howwe had to axe open the hulls on…
by V.J. Hamilton Blue was on the bottom. The popsicle was red on the top, pointed like a rocket; white in the middle, the cylindrical fuel tanks; and blue on the bottom, where its mighty boosters would achieve lift-off. Gigi’s tongue, that slick primordial muscle, rooted around for blue. She…
by Abby Caplin A doctor only pretends to understandthe soul’s transmissions through the stethoscope,the placement of bell and drum on bare chest, simple human breath comingling with clicksof worry, raspings of self-reproach, the unpredictablebeat of chronic confusion. The details don’t matter when loneliness is undone,and the siren I hear through…
by Cathy Bown There in the passenger seat of my uncle’s old red Ford pickup was where the truth finally hit me. As I gazed out the dirty window at the golden country around me, I could see tall oak trees bursting with autumn foliage just waiting to return to…
by Jennifer Schallehn I am 22 and I have just given birth to my first child,a daughter. I run across a photo in a drawer.In it, I am 14. I have just fished the runof a musical, which I have danced in and choreographed.My arms are around two of my…
by C.S. Hanson No one is watching. Sometimes it feels like I’m in my own dream. My body wandering among the rooms of this apartment. Here in the living room, I rotate pillows on the two sofas. I move the patterned blue-and-gold ones to opposite ends of the light-blue sofa….