War Songs
byEVEN BEFORE HE WAS BORN, HIS HOUSE HAD TAKEN ON THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF WAR. This in itself was not surprising; war can be a liquid or a gas;…
Stories
Cold Goodbye
byARTIE WAITS FOR ME OUTSIDE MY MOTHER’S PLACE ON FRIDAY NIGHT, leaning against a parking meter with his crutch tucked under his arm. He pulls a plaster cast out of…
Perfectly Shaped Head
byI HAVE A PERFECTLY SHAPED HEAD. When Momma pushed me out, into the hands of a sticky-fingered midwife, I was as malleable as clay. The old woman pressed her thumbs…
Streaks
byI. THE FIRST STREAK APPEARS WHEN TABITHA IS SITTING on her living room floor surrounded by hair accessories—scarves, hair ties, headbands, bobby pins, an upturned hairbrush she keeps moving out…
The Moon or Bust
byWE USED TO GO STARGAZING. Every Friday night, we would sit in the backyard and marvel at outer space while Grandpa repeatedly hummed the chorus of The Beatles, “Lucy In…
Taxidermy
byI WANTED TO BE A TAXIDERMIST FROM AN EARLY AGE. People who know me say it’s because I experienced a succession of traumatic and premature pet deaths when I was…
Y’idiot
byI’VE BEEN HOLED UP IN THE APARTMENT, waiting for eviction or my ex-girlfriend to return and pick up her things, when the phone rings. She didn’t leave much; just imitation…
The Bat
byThe day the bat burns I get my first two-piece swimsuit. It’s orange and flowered with a white trim. It’s from Goodwill and the bottoms are too big, but my…
My Friend, Thomas Jefferson
byBack when I still thought I could be something, I took a night class up at Topine Community College with this guy who believed he was Thomas Jefferson reincarnated. His…
Would You Rather
byWYR see a giant spider that spun a web next to the headboard of your bed or notice when it’s gone? If you can see it, you know where it…