Ocean World
byMY EYES ARE FIXED ON THE BLUE DENIM VICE STRANGLING THAT PERFECT ASS. I wish to be a folded dollar bill, a playing card, a Lego man, anything small enough…
Stories
Embryology
byThis is a story from Bridge Eight Fiction Prize Winner Ghosts Caught on Film. Order the book here >> THERE WAS CHARLES GOODYEAR, WHO FIRST STUMBLED ONTO THE PROCESS OF VULCANIZATION by…
A View From the California Grass
byReflections on Song of Ourselves: Walt Whitman and the Fight for Democracy Can you live it? —Mark Edmundson As a serious reader and teacher of Mark Edmundson’s work, I have grappled…
Jenny’s Wishing Well
byLINDA STARTED FILLING THE POOL WITH PENNIES THE DAY AFTER JENNY’S FUNERAL. Jenny had been fascinated with the idea of wishes, birthday wishes, wishes on a star, wishes from genies,…
Snowballs in Hell, 1944
byIN THE FIERCE, SNOWY DECEMBER OF 1944, FIVE AMERICAN SOLDIERS KNELT IN A DITCH. The ditch bisected a Belgian glade. For days these men had been pinned down by a…
Wrestling with Dust
byWHEN THE WORKMEN ARRIVE AT SEVEN ON MONDAY MORNING, THEY FIND SISTER DOLORES, IN FULL HABIT, CHAINED TO THEIR BULLDOZER. It isn’t the first time, either. She was here on…
I Smell Death on You
byI WAS AT MY DOCTOR’S OFFICE FOR MY YEARLY CHECKUP. My doctor wore a salt and pepper beard, a stainless steel stethoscope, and a shimmering red tie that glinted like…
A Product of Intense Deliberation
byDear Michael, No, too formal. Mike. Well, I call him that. I’ve been calling him that for a few months now, no big deal. He doesn’t seem to mind. But,…
No Place Like Ventura
bySHE HAD BLUE HAIR AND STAINED TEETH. Was it coffee? Cigarettes? Who knows. They were perfect. Every morning she’d plaster makeup on her face and the sun would bounce off…
Burning Boxes
byTHE BOXES KEEP COMING. Long, casket-shaped cardboard leaning on the front steps. Palm-sized squares in the mailbox. Brown rectangles sprouting on the walkway. Shannon is never sure when they will…