2005 Bruce Kuipers found the baklava on his porch, plated and wrapped. It sat on the table, under the eight-point rack of antlers, and his retriever sniffed at it with a wagging tail. The plate was heavier than he expected, and he nearly spilled its contents kicking off his sandy shoes in the mudroom. In […]

At first, when I held you in my hands, you drew into your shell. But, after some time, you stuck out your head and looked at me with these tiny, ringed eyes. I petted you and asked if you could feel my touch because I read that turtle shells are like skin, living cells crackling […]

A wild entry from Helen this morning, positively raging she was and without any preliminaries. From the get-go there was something clearly the matter. Helen had entered the kitchen with her shopping trolley, which she kept inside the main entry door. Ordinarily, when Helen needed to fetch it she came in from her room and […]

I. This morning a common cellar spider fell into the scalding water of my shower. Already half-lathered by the time I spotted the pitiful creature failing to scramble up the corner of the tub, I hesitated to intervene lest I do more harm than good. Touching the delicate wet body might be like trying to […]

and a tenderness swept over my skin for the man who knew my thighs, all fathappy, in younger years. We were good, ya know, sometimes. And here he was oblivious to my observation— for a swift, floating moment—we were alone again: me watching, he not noticing. The thing we once had, sinewtorn by vultures, briefly […]

and bring wax. I’ve used all of mine even fogged holiday candles. I’ve burnt a string run through hard fat from my bacon. Please. Or I’ll be forced to rob bees at knifepoint and politely collect their products for months. Please bring a crystal ball. I asked around but no-body carries anything round in their […]

That moment before grief destroys us, We sit eating the sweetest melon, Not knowing the sweetness until Much later, when the first grade Is empty-eyed, everyone Alone now as we are overtaken Without knowing it yet, Thinking this cannot be … [Click here to purchase a copy of the magazine]

Before you opened the bag, Sex could’ve been something sleek, a jaguar or puma, but it turned out to be a scraggly orange cat who leaves messes and claws at strangers and yowls for attention all through the night. Spend enough time with Sex and you no longer hope it’ll fix anything; it’s just another […]

36 feet of earth risen from the ground. Sometimes the earth itself raises a hand in prayer. Sand spilling down its face, the hill across the blacktop from our cheap apartment sang invitation. Sang freedom. So we ran, clambered up its almost impossible angle until we stood perched atop a lip of dirt as thin […]

I want to find the porch of the poem. I think if I could just stand there with one fist pressed hard against the ache at the base of my spine, if I could stare off toward the sea of neighboring mountaintops whose clouds threaten to make common cause with my own darknesses – then […]

my child, you will ascend water. it doesn’t matter what your feet and bones are made of. let go of the happy bullshit and do the worm through this life. at your best, you are a comical and clumsy creature— and it is a mechanism of beauty. you have permission to do what you can […]

Little by little, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge gives itself back to ocean storms; c o n c r e t e and s t e e l dust blue crabs and oysters in the depths; some people pay to be driven                    across, shudder in their own […]

wake into your body s’ soft ache   watch as the day unhinges its jaw   promises to devour this quiet want   how quickly the light empties   how small the animal’s cage   can you see the darkness gathering   a murmuration of arrows overhead

Count the bullet holes in the seat cushion slowly—show me their intricate linguistic pattern near my cheek. Keep the car running. Keep the radio on. Point me toward the inside of the house so this won’t result in injury. Shift into gear without thinking—like something ready to put on the brake. Imagine we are good […]

Characters: Mya, 20’s Dana, 50’s – 60’s Jay, 50’s – 60’s Setting: Dana and Jay’s House, Dinnertime   “Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.” ~ Oscar Wilde     (MYA is having dinner with her parents DANA and JAY at their home. […]

Characters: MAE: The mother of teenagers, late 30s to 40s. Often serious, but witty. Not rich, but gets by. A devoted parent who has had a rough few years. LLOYD: A middle-aged dad of two teen girls. Probably blue collar. Gregarious, a man’s man. He probably laughs at jokes he knows he shouldn’t and thinks […]

I started out with myself (who else?). Andy and I wrote a textbook proposal for a publisher who requested it, and when they turned it down, our advisor said, “It’s a good proposal; you should go out with it.” So we did. This was before email. Before we knew it we had two publishers bidding […]