Most recent stories

Pain as Mnemonic Device

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If something hurts enough/ you never forget it. Like the// toothache when you first learned

The Greatest Narcissist on Earth

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I forgot how masterful you are, way better than a pickpocket. After our meeting, I drove home with one hand. It felt funny but I figured I'd absentmindedly put the other in my purse or tossed it into the backseat with my jacket. In my…

Paradise

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From the rumple of pre-dawn Queens, sure South on 95, to almost Savannah by dark; still cold, but we’re full of what’s coming:

Dr. Wong

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Hippy health food. It all began with Hannah’s homemade granola.

Lamenting Lexiconical Loss

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Neglected long enough, uncalled for/ by the shrinking language of the day,// my words abandon me.

66 W

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He said he'd meet me at the Lyric before curtains. For drinks. Only he didn't. Which was OK. The seat was softer, roomier without him. Buzzer rang, doors closed. His loss. Rusalka was clearer. More resonant. Vibrant. Better. …

Exhale

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It's as if the house knew I was relinquishing my hold on it.

Karen's Song from 1967

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I had to go to the lost and fondue.

The Swimmer

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He got tired of the pool party, the chit-chat, the suburban posturing, and he decided to swim home.

The Push-Up Ranch

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There is a push-up on the ceiling. I don't know how to get it down. I've tried hitting it with a broom. That just made it blow steam. I asked my wife, did you do push-ups on the ceiling? She did. Why? It's easier up there. The cat doesn't bother me. Well, you left…

Detroit: I'm Emotionally Invested

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I grew up in Detroit, and even though I haven't lived there since I was 18, I'm still a Michigander at heart. I'm also a (retired) bankruptcy attorney.You can probably tell where this is going. I own a Detroit municipal bond. It's a sewer bond, which means…

The Long Walk Home

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The last time Cyrus rode in a train’s passenger car, he came home a dead man.

For Budding Cowboy Poets, Hot Practices Only Get Verse

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You’re wife’s as ugly as a bitch coyote/And you ain’t half the man of Truman Capote.

Tonschmerz

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Deists try to prove the existence of God. I do not doubt God nor evidence of the existence of Jesus nor Jesus' miracles. I merely wish there were more people like him

'Is This a Problem?'

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London, England. 1999.

Five Million Yen: Chapter 49

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Besotted by an overload of scotch, Ben’s brain barely alerted him to loud knocking at his door.

Can I Have a Title Here?

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At the company luncheon, the dessert course came first. The servers were tense and unresponsive and we knew something was off. After the pudding or mousse came an undressed salad. Several minutes later came dressings — balsamic, ranch — with ladles.…

The River of the Parched Spirit

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anxiety said Kierkegaard is the dizziness of freedom

Dread and Circuses

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It is claimed we choose/ conditions of our servitude.

Couplets Regarding an Impasse

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Life is easier for the handsome. / They are more pleasant to deal with.

What's that on your glasses?

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The shit just doesn't want to come off.

another ode

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the strength in you i envy/ leaves me naked, sweating in the dust/ while you possess what ethic i pretend to have/ in the face of those who expect from me/ so much more.

Brother

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My brother was the catcher, and we were having sex. I was waiting to be scared. In our act, he would swing upside down from the bar, hanging by his knees, his arms extended, and I would fly into his chalky grip.

Navigating Iota

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I never thought that I would be here

Sweden 1958, I-IV

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didn't know how to do it just tried to squeeze on the teats didn't know I had to grab up on the udder and pull Unca Ole laughed

Quail

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I can’t take my eyes off a tall blonde with green eyes. I catch her eye.

In Real Life

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I’m starting to feel more interested in my savings account.

Short Lobsters

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"They measured the lobsters and they were short. But like I said, not by much. If they had any sense they’d leave the poor guy alone and go after the big fish.”

At Twelve (Abridged Edition)

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She has dwindled for the better part of a year, staved off her period, breasts and hips like a warrior. Chestnut strands that danced along candy apple cheeks now surrender to metal pins, her bun severe as an old maid's. Her prominent ears…

Filter

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The brain taints everything it brings to us/ with its limited apparatus, its precepts,// all the things it thinks it knows.