Most discussed stories

backwash

13361336 views1111 comments1010 favs

today

My Tongue

19481948 views1111 comments55 favs

A nun once told me to watch my tongue. This is not an easy thing to do.

Drive, you sd, for christ's sake

18211821 views1111 comments55 favs

This weekend was supposed to be about intellect and soul-mating, but, like all others, it's turned into body and longing. You sit in my passenger seat and I let you smoke in my wee car with the windows rolled down. We've come from a wedding, a fairy ring, a…

The Telescope

54665466 views1111 comments33 favs

The man meets a woman while out on his lunch break. She seems nice; they strike up a conversation. Before leaving, the woman gives the man her telephone number. The man goes home and thinks about it. It’s been a long time since he’s been on a date.

Minerva Gets Pierced by Love

33563356 views1111 comments66 favs

Minerva one night had a change of plans, for Mr. Wright knocked on her door in the form of a potbellied perv with a Vaseline mustache.

Tuscumbia, Alabama

20392039 views1111 comments77 favs

My dad at the wheel, my mother's ulcer inflamed, she puked her way across northern Alabama that summer, from Huntsville and the rusting rockets to Tuscumbia, the farthest any of us had been west. We drove through raw, blistered towns,…

Ways in Which Looks Deceive

21352135 views1111 comments44 favs

Everything is illuminated. If anyone is watching, we look happy.

One of Four

17051705 views1111 comments66 favs

She stood with her sisters, pretty maids in a row, felt cold despite the scorching spring sun. Heard what the man said but didn’t register; words from the Lord flew around her like the flighty trill of the robins up above. The birds made more sense.

Deep Pockets

27312731 views1111 comments99 favs

Garage-sale variety olive-green corduroy, elbow patches, hems too short. His jacket pocket produced answers one afternoon like strips of paper from cracked fortune cookies.

Uncle Moscow

18151815 views1111 comments99 favs

He asked me to bury him in Vegas. Instead, I had him cremated in Trenton.

I'd Be Happy To Date You When Hell Freezes Over -- One Single Librarian's Collection Of Online Dating Profile Turnoffs

22872287 views1111 comments99 favs

Dude -- I DON'T want to date your boat!

Ben Clarone: Prologue Part 1

15501550 views1111 comments88 favs

The gaunt broken man walked with short quick steps on the uneven path.

Gloss

29132913 views1111 comments66 favs

Follow my finger up the canyon wall, past the Chevy wedged into its own ferocious orbit. It was that innocent...

Trio

11421142 views1111 comments99 favs

With green and silent industry, the plants/ convert our shit to fiber, food and breath.

Paperclip

17941794 views1111 comments55 favs

The Americans don't want us. They want knowledge. They want to eat with us. They want technology and weapons. They want the results of research they themselves are too craven to perform, answers to questions they ask themselves in whispers, in the dark. T

The Winner

18761876 views1111 comments1010 favs

i never much liked Elvis never did then never do now he was no Kris Kristofferson

The Conversation

15401540 views1111 comments99 favs

Listening is loving. What is more erotic than these fathoms, skeins, words, roping tight the ardent ear.

Yesterday

11291129 views1111 comments88 favs

played-out

Note to Vera Wang

16691669 views1111 comments1111 favs

Vera Wang I saw you on Oprah today girl. Oh no no no.

Never Been Down to Lonely Street

23242324 views1111 comments55 favs

“This is not turning out to be a wholesome project,” my brother hissed into the phone one night. “Yo, Alan, it’s ELVIS. It’s American gothic, and the child needs to know the underbelly of the myth,” I hissed back.“Did you, or did you not, wear makeup to

In Due Time

15431543 views1111 comments1010 favs

Almost every weekend I'd ask Henry to go out with me and Marge, telling him we could double and, hey, maybe he could bring Ellen, who he dated a while back, who still asked about him. I'd suggest such things as going to a movie or out for a few drinks to reminisce about our…

American Birthdays

25592559 views1111 comments99 favs

Cherry was America's least favorite pie. Her mother made it every year for her father's birthday because "daddy doesn't like cake." America had to wash the bowls, the wooden spoon, the plates and finally the Pyrex dish. Her brother got to "contribute" by climbing the tree…

Kilz

15711571 views1111 comments77 favs

He flipped through a book of poems Ani’d given me. Nothing fell out so he tore it in two. I said his mama must notta read to this one and one of the older cops laughed and he hit me.

At the End of the World There Will Only Be Renegade Lovers

16301630 views1111 comments55 favs

I didn't believe in hiding secrets or broken arrows. So I told my new girlfriend, who in earnest, tried shedding pounds like ugly memories, who glued herself to my shag carpet, watching exerise videos--that I didn't sleep alone. I tried to be as sensitive as possible,…

Three.

267267 views1111 comments44 favs

I spent our years together being someone you'd approve, and all

The Passed Away

14431443 views1111 comments66 favs

Died is forever. Passed away/ Is ambiguous. Dead isn’t/ polite.

Lisa Duncan's Mom

39753975 views1111 comments88 favs

Lisa Duncan's mom was puffy, and you could always see part of her breasts.

Turtle Summer

20862086 views1111 comments77 favs

He was her summer fling, the first cock to crow when the sun rose over her tequila smile.

Long Sticks Are Often Useful

17791779 views1111 comments1010 favs

It was just lying there by the side of the road next to a mailbox, pockets turned out, weeds kinda rolled flat around it. I counted three nickels, a dime, and a cigar butt too. I could sure use the change for gum, but I didn't want to get near it. It looked dead,…

Becoming

15291529 views1111 comments33 favs

Ego bereft of consistency Betrays a heart hungering to toll. Unable to trust its will Or harbor imaginary gods, It gains a hold melding into a role whose proven viability Can give convincing cover To buy time to fabricate An identity that feels unique, Yet…