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You, me, now, then

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If I seemed disappointed after our conversation, then, for the record, that was never the case.

Darcy Eastland

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To him the younger women, contemporaries of the bride, all sounded as if they were breathing helium.

Blemish in the Blood

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Warning: some of this is true, some of this is not.

Souvenirs

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It is a hot August night — the same kind you remember from that summer after high school graduation. A cool breeze blows in off the ocean, sweeping across the boardwalk just hard enough to dry the …

The Perfect Note

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Everything needs context, otherwise reality would be nothing more than stardust with a spark.

Arcana Magi Memorial Vol.5 - c.2

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Azure was overwhelmed by white everywhere. Her eyes lost focus when she looked at the colors of Miri’s outfit, even her clothes.

Infamy

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These were the kind of days children dreamed of. A warm sun shone over Coronado, California. December weather on the island did not prevent outside play. The wind off the bay remained soft, even if chilled. Church let out early. There was time to pla

The Interview

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What follows is an interview George Bush gave to Barbara Walters in 2006. He came off like something out of a swamp. Dick Cheney made them deep-six the tapes and we never saw it on prime time. I got the transcript, however,…

My Brother the Painter

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My father bouncing his leg to slow rock music with me on one knee, telling me I should keep a special place in my heart for my teeth, to remember where I lose them, on the playground like he did when he was my age, fighting a friend named Bobby-Joe. Or else I could lose…

Xs and Os

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Momma pointed out our paintings on the walls, the signs we had learned, but when Daddy saw our friends, their wheelchairs, braces on their legs, he left...

re·frac·tion

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bassackward/in the surreal/bathroom mirror

Rentals

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You master their secrets. Mirror adjusters... Air conditioning knobs... Fuel door releases... Changing their satellites to Mojo Nixon. But you never really know them.

The Naming of Girls

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I sneak glances of her unhooking the clasp, taking it off, so that her back is bare, and I can see the muscles, the bones underneath move as she puts the new one on...

Nope - song

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The tax man he is coming But I got me no dough Been looking for some new job That’s going really slow I bought a lottery ticket But dropped it down the well I went to see the psychic She said I’d go to hell Can’t cope, I just can’t cope

Letter to John Berryman

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My dad was an Army Reservist stationed in the U.S.—New York and Texas—the bugler in his corps. He golfed on summer weekends at Hazeltine in the course of his career. I had seen houses water colored prettily within the lines on L.S.D., after noticing not

Dusk

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Her memory was a faded pastiche of the past, and indeed the present sat uneasily in the middle of the dreams that governed her mind; so it was that often she would forget the day, the time, the year.

The seduction

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1. HeWomen's heads turned when Remy stopped in the doorway — as they always did. He noticed — as he always did — but paid no attention as he scanned the room. Too nervy to care. No sign of Fiona. Good. It paid to be the one doing the…

Honoring Heritage

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salmon sits gentler on my palate

Blackish by Reason of the Ice

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"Sara, do you taketh it with your eyes?"

Introduction and Apology Written Against the End of Time

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They articulate my failings as a human being./ They articulate my greater rage at human beings// here for such a short time and at the precipice already

STIFF NOW! The Early Embalming Craze Sweeping the Nation!

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Originally designed for para-morticians and pre-professional undertakers, the Protocol has now been certified and approved for over-the-counter purchase and is completely safe (check local regulations for sales to minors: not approved for veterinary use).

Radical Middle-Aged Cake Acceptance

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Cake is not the enemy.

Beach Scene

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Larry works the concession stand / near the pier.

Sole Music

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You're on the good side of thirty, probably with a little girl or boy of your own sleeping at home, and here you are dragnetting at three in the morning. We're all broken, and the scars we trade are all that remains of our fragile, once complex lives.

Roadside Assistance

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When it starts looking bad enough, I bundle up and head out the door.

Hungry

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Why do people kill themselves with food? It’s obvious, I suppose. They’re hungry.

Lyz & Duncan

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This morning, my band mates discussed their relationship deal breakers.

So long

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Years later he surveys this place again to post something, anything. He plays "sex on fire," sounds that once fueled him. Now he knows the song is about VD, not unbridled potency. Names and words all seem at once familiar and numbing and noise. He once wanted fame or…

"Cary" Me Home

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"Would you mind if she took your empty seat?" The stewardess said. "She has a phobia." "Oh." Archie's dimpled chin fell, then a smile broke above it. "Not at all."

One More Good Hand

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It's been like that of late. One bad beat after another. I used to hold all the cards, kick some ass, be rolling in it and buying the Crystal at Birdland for all my special ladies. Now I can't get in without a steep cover and my markers are no good in the