Most read stories

A THOUSAND PARROTS

15271527 views11 comment00 favs

  The parrots woke Eddie up. That and Rocker snoring in the twin bed. A thousand parrots flying over the motel? They squawked, God how they…

The Fact of the Matter

15271527 views99 comments77 favs

Jeanne and I were married for eight years. I never knew her.

My Name is Luka

15271527 views44 comments22 favs

The first and easiest reason was that he never hit me. Well, if he never hit me, then how could it possibly be abuse? Never mind the threats to stab me in the neck. He was only angry. He really didn't mean that. Never mind he restrained me, or cornered me

Chapter 27: Prosperity Meteor Showers and the Human Ingenuity Tenders Lasting Economic Recovery Act

15271527 views77 comments55 favs

... the CBO issued a concise and brilliant report demonstrating that the most cost-effective and permanent solution to the multiple problems presented by persistent poverty in the United States was the elimination of all those with prorated household or i

Solution

15271527 views88 comments66 favs

I wrote her a poem.She said, “I hate poetry.” I said, “OK, just read the words then."

The Winter's Too Warm for Bears to Sleep

15271527 views88 comments77 favs

The winter’s too warm for the bears to sleep, and they get up in the middle of the night with insomnia and wander about the streets in their pajamas, knocking over garbage cans, looking for a midnight snack of some kind. They’re getting kind o

Professional Pizza Patter

15271527 views44 comments00 favs

We all stared, somewhat shocked and mostly disgusted.

The Poisoning

15271527 views1111 comments99 favs

The Poisoning I used to call my dad Serpico. Thirty years on the police force, and though a respected officer, he never fit in. He never had beers with the guys at the end of a shift or engaged in the more lewd locker room talk. None of the other cops were privy to which…

Independence Day

15261526 views66 comments66 favs

It’s Independence Day. But I’m not feeling independent.

Global Arms

15261526 views1010 comments22 favs

~(+)~

Elevator to the Angels

15261526 views55 comments55 favs

I opened the closet door and there stood Eugène Ionesco lost among our clothes.

Flutter in Night

15261526 views1212 comments66 favs

Have you heard this yet? The daughter flew home to care for the mother, whose pump is still tick ticking—though now with aid—which means she leaves the kitchen when the microwave clicks on.

Death by Dinner

15261526 views22 comments00 favs

I can't believe it's Frankie, but there he is at a table on the far side, just in front of the big picture window. I hold the menu close to my face and peek again over the top, watching as he reaches under the white linen tablecloth to plant…

~switches and shade~

15261526 views00 comments00 favs

  mis-placed       the change           she goes looking for.        her folks        missed another hour...          her worth-while spent wasting        the voice wouldn’t leave the leaves alone.

Nose

15261526 views1111 comments88 favs

At the conference her boss showed off his knowledge of wines.

Spittoon (w.c.55)

15261526 views22 comments22 favs

“I’m pregnant,” he says...

The Nude Pianist: A Novel: Chapter 34

15261526 views55 comments22 favs

—Now that’s a hell-of-a-painting, Frank, he said. Those colors are engaged in warfare. How the hell did you do that?

Inside Out

15261526 views33 comments33 favs

Who hasn’t at some point of the day wanted to dredge up everything in your pocket just to see what it is.

MASS OF TANGLES

15261526 views11 comment00 favs

I leapt up to retaliate when the clang of a distant door quieted my retesance. Shit, why am I so popular? I guess it was my turn to be thrown around like the guy in the Hotdog suit on the corner... Don't shoot the "Hotdog" guy... Please, please don't

Road Work '92

15261526 views22 comments11 fav

This is how she does it: Forward………… ...Reverse..........…….....Forward..........……...Reverse

The Fourth Prague Defenestration: 12

15251525 views22 comments22 favs

Ellen and I stepped out into the hall to discuss the situation. Maybe we should make some sort of offer to purchase these paintings, because if it did turn out that they were for real, well, the value could be endless. Think of it. Vladimir Lenin, the pai

Five Million Yen: Chapter 40

15251525 views22 comments11 fav

Ben was dreaming of sex with Claudia. But, in his dream, he could hear Dan Arris calling his name and pounding on a door. The fear of Dan Arris was pushing out the delights of Claudia.

Henny Penny On Why She Crossed the Road

15251525 views44 comments44 favs

Ok, ok, people are forever asking me, so why did I cross the frickin’ road? Dumb-shit me, of course. Consequences waaay unforseen.

Myself Today

15251525 views22 comments22 favs

Suddenly I'm not feeling it anymore. / Poetry has become insufficient. / I can't do it like I used to.

String Money

15251525 views1111 comments66 favs

I said hey man, how you doin’? He looked up and nodded but his shades flashed and I couldn’t see his eyes.

Playing Boggle with Lowell's Mind

15251525 views77 comments44 favs

lewd sinew swine

Need food for family

15251525 views00 comments00 favs

The young man pulls out his wallet, grabs a couple of bills and stops short of handing them to the bedraggled man. “So how do I know you’re not going to go out and buy some crack with this money?”

Bookstore Reading, Telegraph Ave, Berkeley

15251525 views55 comments55 favs

There’s someone in the audience who is immolating himself Cutting his own leg over and over with a pen knife And groaning: “Oh God, oh God” And all I can think from up at the podium is This guy must absolutely hate these poems I am reading

My Belgian Waffle-Hound: Song

15251525 views44 comments33 favs

I was walking my Belgian Waffle-Hound Past the Belgian waffle shop I found a penny on the ground And did a tiny little hop I spun around and went inside The Belgian waffle shop And bought a little waffle For my Belgian Waffle-Hound

Strange

15251525 views1010 comments33 favs

Words are looking ever so strange today like a hole in space a wind in a cloud a face superimposed over a mountain