Most read stories

Just Before the Funeral

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We had been on the way to the church when we found them. The handkerchief in my breast pocket was folded just so and I'd tried to recreate the perfect ribbon in Ashley's hair, …

When the Meat Puppet Meets the Meat Lady

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Diamonds are for suckers Diamonds are for the miserable at heart Keep that in mind when you are busy Puffing out your chest and Slipping on your dancing shoes We were about to witness the release of souls From the captivity of flames At th

The First Round

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It was mostly accidental.

Absolution

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Father, trouble me memory;laconic, idle, some glint on the dark. Recall us to me: what did we have, or what did we lose? Like some late affection, open me again, laugh it out of us. It is not loss I'm looking toput back together, papered over…

The Nude Pianist: A Novel: Chapter 51

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Francesco tried to fix Oriana's face in his mind as he blindly walked to the taxi queue.

Cockroaches From Heaven

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Cockroaches may be falling through the holes in the floorboards of heaven, but we will not be disturbed. We are agents, free and clear, even if a little bit mean. I want to quit worrying about money, but the angels upstairs won’t let me. The

Botanical Maneuvers

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They hunger for new real estate/ and those resources underground

One Night Stand with the Birthday Girl Near Lincoln Park Before Leaving on my “Honeymoon”

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Terry marked each spot where we did it with a red “X” on this map she had taken from my dad's gas station. In those days gas stations gave out maps for free.

I'll find you - A Dedication to Mathew Paust

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Matt was among those rare creatures; an ideal kind of reader ...

One-Sided Conversation

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[I STILL CAN'T GET THE "CENTERING" FORMAT THINGEE — WHAT? "JUSTIFY CENTER"? THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED? YEAH — THAT ONE! TO WORK! WHAT THE—]

The Despotic Elephant

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An elephant with fascist tendencies,And various exotic dependancies,Kept his eye on,That there King Lion,Frustrated by his monarchic propensities.He made plans to over-throw,Thinking the Lion's popularity low,But he was discovered,When his habits were uncovered,Which was…

With Torture Banned, US Tries High School Awards Night

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“He’s a tough nut,” says CIA officer Marlon McGrath. “He says he’ll die a martyr rather than crack before we get to the Booster Club award for outstanding female athlete.”

Trapped

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They were overweight, diabetic, and trapped in a cellphone dead zone.

Why I Can't Write Romance

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But all I see, the only irresolute shape in my mind that forms and becomes real, is you.

Good (Enough)

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Maybe I am good

I Said God Damn

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the space between two antelopes is a canyon,

Enemies Are Taken Care Of?

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A waiter at the café was saying “I’m opening the curtain here behind your back Is that okay?” “Go ahead,” I told him. “It’s all right” “Enemies are taken care of?” “They already got everything,” I said Suddenly both of us were laughi

Woody met Louise

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Times were tough. They met out on the right-of-way on Highway 61 heading south, each trying to hitch a ride to New Orleans where they might find work. Albert walked up to her lugging a saxophone in a scuffed up case. Mamie had old cloth suitcase. After handshake bona fides…

Let Me Drown

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Our local low rent ice-based superhero said he’d had enough and would check back in early spring.

He Loved Her (In Honor of Father's Day)

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A man strolled by with perfect posture and a masterful comb-over. Bud gave me that 'get him' expression; sitting there with his own low side part. We razzed him about it all the time, but he still looked pretty-damn-good for seventy-five.

The Starfish and The Pin Joint

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The two boys walked the long dock to the edge of bay,like scrappy lobsters pointing toward the waves,"The cockroaches of the sea,"his father said,It was the old country"Only prisoners were fed lobster.They stayed in the dampholes."He thought the sea ebbed and flowed like a…

I'm So Glad

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The boy had decided he needed to sell his music equipment—the p.a. system, his amp, his compact organ. His band had broken up and wasn’t going to get back together. He was leaving town at the end of the summer, to where exactly he didn’t know yet.

Stationcity Drums

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Deep in Stationcity they began to drum.

Saturdays with Satan: Desperately Seeking Evil

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“Grow some fucking balls, Satan!”Did I just say that? To the prince of darkness?Yes. Yes, I did. Let me back up.*It was around 10:30 Saturday morning when the phone rang. I recognized the caller id.“Hi, Satan,” I said as I picked it…

Corpses

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It was not my intent to be nosy. I just wanted to be the best neighbor I could be. Having never had anyone close growing up, I wanted to get involved and be a part of my community, such as it was. My only neigbhor was Edna Phelps. She was one…

A Tinder Ghost

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Do you know if you were actually speaking to me there?

Swan Dance

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The house stood quietly in its surrounds. Unnerved by the beauty that enveloped it. Green forest trees loomed round the house protecting it from the outside world and in front of it lay a sweeping lake that disappeared into the trees on…

Paper Thin

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She slipspaper thinshe ripspaper thin

an exhibit of nature

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I’ll widen a wing out of myself, if you want. I’ll wash out the more volatile salts of man’s innate salt. I’ll awaken the milky sense the night sky’s made of, under Van Gogh’s heaven. Use the same salt wind sailing over all origin, the rim of the cup an

Party in Sierra Madre Canyon

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“You’re just like me,” she said, as dawn was breaking. “You like sex.”