Most read stories

Eight Maids a'Milking

22512251 views00 comments00 favs

“… and that concludes my presentation. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.” Meixu Liao smiled and turned her hands out, palms upwards. Americans typically saw this combination of facial expression and body language as conveyin

How to travel with your Demons (5)

22512251 views66 comments55 favs

She believes that this started with a phone call when she walked out of the deli yesterday. She believes that it started when it was snowing this morning in Brooklyn, waiting for her car to arrive, but the truth is, this journey began a long time ago.

Never Been Down to Lonely Street

22512251 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

Everybody Needs a Soul

22512251 views1717 comments88 favs

They are running the bulls in Pamplona this afternoon and they have no idea how to do this and they are way too old for this and they want to relive their youth and run the bulls in Pamplona They want to drink like Ernest Hemingway and run

TGIF

22512251 views11 comment11 fav

“You’re off till Monday,” the big man told him. “You can thank Mr. Big Mouth and company for that. Death detail gets two days off.”

Arcana Magi - c.10: To the Horizon

22502250 views00 comments00 favs

“Stay there Alysia!” Brie said from behind as she ran toward them. The Sentinel used Alysia’s back as a step and launched herself into the air with Legacy over her head.

Eight minutes, twenty one seconds

22502250 views22 comments00 favs

Well, I turn the car off, the song turns off, I gather all of my stuff, turn off my lights, inevitably drop something as I’m getting out of the car, shut the door, lock the car, fumble for my house key, walk up the stairs, unlock the front door, set my

COYOTE BAIT

22502250 views11 comment11 fav

Light was always fucking with you in LA, especially in the afternoon where it possessed a golden hue that could knock you over if you weren’t careful. Its beauty reminded you of what you lacked.

Rocky Mountain Oysters

22502250 views88 comments22 favs

“They’re Rocky Mountain Oysters,” the blond said. “Fresh. You’ll absolutely love them Jim.”

Officer Friendly

22502250 views66 comments44 favs

The last time Ray and I broke up, I flew my flag at half-mast. It was the kind of thing that pissed him off. He was very big on flag etiquette: how the flag should be folded, the fact that it should never touch the ground, when to fly it at half-mast, the rules regarding…

Hunger

22492249 views55 comments66 favs

for E. …

Peacemaker

22492249 views1414 comments44 favs

He had the cannonball head of Hemingway, the stump neck, sloping shoulders and barrel chest.

compass/ion

22492249 views1414 comments77 favs

a question that (never) left

Joan of Dark

22482248 views1515 comments1515 favs

What happens in heaven stays in heaven.

A Sunday Afternoon in Paris

22482248 views2424 comments1616 favs

He would lean on his window sill in the evening and watch the whores. They wore gaudy clothes and too much makeup.

Flexeril and Hydrocodone and Want

22482248 views1515 comments1212 favs

Flexeril and Hydrocodon... For my back

Mr. Natural and a Little Opium On the Side

22482248 views77 comments11 fav

It was a sloppy little factory town that could be beautiful, but never bothered trying. Sits on a big lake. More bars than churches, and too many of both. Racist. We hated anybody who didn’t believe in white Jesus

Labor Policy

22472247 views1212 comments33 favs

The City Council supports this policy and, by necessity, ranks human slavery very low on the list of the city’s woes.

Sorry to have missed you

22472247 views1111 comments1010 favs

1. Allowance 2. Tooth fairy 3. JFK coin savings bank in clear plastic beveled skyscraper tower 4. Ben Franklin iron coin bank

Serial Killer

22472247 views22 comments33 favs

Once Mom finally came to terms with the fact that my brother was gay, she became convinced he was a serial killer. “He has all the signs,” she told me as she trimmed my hair. “Signs?” I asked, watching her in the…

634 Orchards, fruits & forestry

22472247 views1212 comments88 favs

The juice that stays on my neck when you tip me back, catching me in an alleyway, holding me upright as the oranges tumble and strike the backs of my knees. You cup your strong-smelling, sticky-soft fingers around my ear and say let's blow this city.

Frozen Chicken

22462246 views77 comments77 favs

One of the pieces, I noticed, had the real shape of a miniature chicken, its mohawk, pin legs, and small definition of wing. “Look at that,” I said to my friend. And just then, the wing twitched.

Sing

22462246 views55 comments11 fav

"From up here the city lights burn like a thousand miles of fire," he croaked, his voice scratchy from sobbing. In pinpoints of illumination he imagined his wife - *former* wife - Calli in that Mustang convertible he'd gotten her for a birthday surprise

BLACKHORSE

22462246 views88 comments44 favs

All the neighborhood kids waited for the school bus on a small cement slab at the bottom of the first big hill on Blackhorse Road. My mother made me scrambled egg sandwiches on wheat toast every morning for breakfast before I left for school. Then one mor

You Can Remain Anonymous

22462246 views2323 comments1818 favs

a poem about an abduction in my NYC neighborhood

Naked (a translation)

22452245 views44 comments11 fav

His body echoed in the mirror/ cracked into distant images

Vague Obscenities

22442244 views2525 comments1212 favs

The next day on YouTube, 3,558,019 users watched the clip of Kate dangling next to Jay Leno's chin.

Decrucifixion

22442244 views11 comment00 favs

"Isn't it time to remove the nails, and put Jesus to rest once and for all," Mary asks.

Stories from the War

22442244 views11 comment11 fav

He didn’t know how to tell his story. It wasn’t an easy story to tell. There certainly was a clear beginning, but it didn’t make much sense to start at the beginning. There was no way to end the story either; the ending seemed to last forever.

We're All Guys Here

22432243 views66 comments77 favs

The doorbell rang while Ron was masturbating.He closed his eyes tight. Tried to hold the image of Lori bent over the arm of the couch. No use. It was gone. Ron sighed, then levered the recliner down. Tied on the terry-cloth robe Lori had given him. He kicked aside an empty…