Most read stories

Arturo + Lourdes, 2005 and 4ever

21562156 views44 comments22 favs

Here’s the story as compiled from the scantest of clues: The writing on the back of a stall door in the restroom of a twenty-four hour restaurant under the Gowanus Expressway.

When the Ocean Was Ours

21562156 views88 comments66 favs

The Ocean used to be ours. When the stars were still fire and they were the only light burning though the dim, hazy nights, the ocean was ours. Before the smog, and the lights that were carried by the men who rose from the sea, the ocean was ours. We…

December 15, 2012

21562156 views77 comments33 favs

Already, I can see that, whenever Harold moves, some of his soul escapes, like an accidental exhalation, like breath on powder.

Moon collar

21562156 views99 comments99 favs

I don't think dogs like to die with the pack. The smell of them rotting brings trouble in the wild,

Looney Tunes

21552155 views66 comments44 favs

I put my arms around her and whisper to her while she plays the piano. She wiggles and tells me to stop it.

Helen O., Grand Central, 1959

21552155 views1919 comments1111 favs

No snippet to see, here. The piece is so short a snippet would be the whole thing.

Punk

21542154 views2222 comments1616 favs

My mother used to say she'll be just like you and you‘ll deserve it. I was a Punk Rocker. A rebel. Emily worries about things like grades and sports. She's on the soccer team. I got stoned under the bleachers. Emily, is a good kid. …

Martyr

21542154 views00 comments11 fav

The everlasting shone through when skirting the tenuous threshold of the two worlds.

Sad News

21542154 views00 comments00 favs

They got out wearing their crisp brown Army jackets and khaki pants; she saw the cross on the lapel of the officer's shirt and just knew. These men brought sad news from faraway places.

Old Vibrations

21542154 views2323 comments2020 favs

There's always a sound, something triggering the fear.

Boy Toy

21542154 views1616 comments99 favs

Sometimes you can't sleep.

Sheer

21532153 views22 comments22 favs

That's when we struggle, got it? Right there on the floor. It's not the brawl of the century, and I'm not the pilot who delivers the Enola Gay.

Heart Line

21532153 views2424 comments1010 favs

One sunny morning, a big-bellied ball of yellow fur surveyed a yard full of prospective adopters and ran straight to one. She’d been chosen.

The Damp Place

21532153 views88 comments55 favs

As long as he could still take the stairs, he would go down there to be with the memories that each piece held. He knew that their time was about up, because his was too. His wife had already gone, and even before that she had long stopped using the washe

To Be Undone

21532153 views11 comment11 fav

. . . hands before your face, heart without blood . . .

Improbable Bodies

21532153 views2020 comments66 favs

The book has known many women’s hands, something erotic and frequently checked out from our local library. Its cover depicts a man and a woman, both with improbable if not impossible bodies. I believe the term is bodice-ripper.

The Clique

21532153 views00 comments00 favs

On the other side of the world the Moon spun on its way.

Love Story

21532153 views66 comments22 favs

You longed to rip off her butterfly wings and watch her scream in agony. You ached to carve the steel from her eyes.

Three Poems in March, after Baca

21532153 views88 comments55 favs

I could love them all, your people, / Learn their differences, speak their tongues, / When there is no one there to hold you / But me, my arms would be wide enough / To hold armies of your need. Do not forget.

Keep a Lid on It

21522152 views44 comments44 favs

Eventually, all the windows on the street went dark, each small house cloaking its occupants in a world unto itself, soundproofed and emotionally remote.

The Things That Danny Said

21522152 views66 comments33 favs

Danny said that you like him now. He smiled like it was the best news that he could give me, but his eyes dared me. …

A Little Fishing

21522152 views88 comments66 favs

Len and I sit on Harpo's porch, drink beer and gab. It's hot, even for July. Len and I joke and laugh, and Harpo stares off into the middle distance.

The Perils of Open Hand

21522152 views22 comments22 favs

There are worse things than getting your ass kicked by a 12 year old Puerto Rican kid. This was exactly my thinking as he stood over me, his pre-pubescent screams sounding like a baby Bruce Lee, preparing to finish me off.

The bridge

21512151 views1919 comments1515 favs

as long as you have some snacks up there I can be brave

Barcode, Sloe Gin Fizz is Pink

21512151 views22 comments22 favs

Sloe Gin Fizz is pink Bombay Gin comes in blue I’m sitting here at Emerald’s And all I can think of is – you.

Bus

21512151 views55 comments44 favs

You can’t take a chandelier on an emergency dash across a nuclear desert.

The Massacre

21512151 views55 comments55 favs

 …

John Lennon Slept Here (Or Was It Ringo?)

21512151 views22 comments22 favs

Why is the ghost of John Lennon haunting a house in rural Oregon?

Living in the Lapin of Luxury

21512151 views44 comments11 fav

“There’s cheap land at Cudlee Creek perfect for breeding long-haired rabbits,” he added. “They can’t jump high so fencing costs are low.”

Infinity Pool

21512151 views1111 comments44 favs

I sink until water saturates my lashes, waiting, breathless, for the words to stop.