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Digging a Hole to the China Sea

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Could sampans fall upward, sailing from the bottom of the Earth? If so, which way would their sails bend—up, or down? And would the strange China Sea follow suit? Would salt water geysers spurt from the hole we dug, flooding the streets of Seattle?

It's True What They Say

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Pa grasps my fingers, odd because he's never held my hand and he's dead ten years anyway.

Robert Kennedy Remembered by Jean Baudrillard

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K is eating a banana. He says to me, "There is no end in the sense that God is dead, or history is dead. I would prefer not to play the role of a thoroughly useless prophet. I leave that to others, like Gene McCarthy."

Loose

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pretty music

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.

Poem on the Table

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Its intelligence won’t be/ diminished when you take/ a bone saw to its cranium

The Thirteenth Sign

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I'm twelve again and

Cranshaw at the Dinner Party / Cranshaw, the Cause of Wit in Others

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“What does the future hold?”

Chinese Apples

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Mother still calls pomegranates “Chinese apples,” much to my embarrassment.

Fun Times at the Memorial Park

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Good times, underground.

Smart

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"A little knowledge truly is a dangerous thing."

Pacific Light

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That was one option. Another was to assemble all the resident grunts...on one side of the island, jump up and down in unison, flip it over, and see if life on the bottom was any better.

I Would Make the Worst Cable News Anchorwoman Ever

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I'd laugh, cry, splutter with confusion or outrage. I'd probably say “Duh” a lot, grow pale, flush, and wink at the viewers. I'd furrow my eyebrows, raise one or both, and my eyes would narrow, widen,…

Chairs and Mirrors

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There's a mirror in front of me and I thought it was so I could see myself, but I didn't want to see me.

Unseenly

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Over the years, his face began to alter

Down Cellar

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Down cellar, my father showed me where he kept his beer stash. It was in a cubbyhole under the bulkhead, where Mom never thought to look.

When the Muse Abandons You

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I am abandoned to the mundane/ calculations of a small mind/ trapped by small considerations

Gabrielle in Arrears

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You should be calling 911

Wednesdays They Pay Us, But Now It's Thursday

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fire rolls through the drive-thru

A Quite Literary Catfight

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Cavett asked McCarthy what she thought was overrated about Hellman. McCarthy–never known to mince words–replied “Every word she writes is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the.'"

Regarding Viet Nam

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At some point, my lottery number/ was in the mid 300s. I was safe/ for whatever reason. No need/ to burn my draft card.

Disposable

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He was a liability. I knew I had to ditch him.

30 East Towards Texarkana

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44 miles out the gauntlet of Red River pines cast shadows pointing north.

Sugarfoot Pond

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i was jus countin' your heartbeats, Emmie and you know what? i think they's the same as mine!

Granny's Reform School Weekend Intensive Workshop, Session One

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Being a grandparent is most joyous when deliberately subversive.

Middle Age

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There are no city-chewed streets,/ only white and lilac blooming dogwood trees.

Interview

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The ethnographer turns on a recorder. The story began before but that is lost, like it never happened.

Litter Box

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When I died, she said, she was going to have me cremated and put my ashes in the cats’ litter box.

Dog Days

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I dreamt I was spinning down the coast in a convertible. It was warm, and the top was down.

Hot Lava Carpets

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"The carpet's hot lava," my son cries, pointing at the ground from the sofa."Yeowch!" I say, leaping next to him.We sit together for a moment, silently contemplating our predicament."We need to get downstairs," I tell him. He nods, but does not move. He stares at the hot…