Hot gossip
I told you, from a distance, that I loved you, and was blackened with the earned shame of the illicit. Noses sniffed. Fingers pointed. Hands covered whispering lips. But you? … Continue Reading Hot gossip
Grown up
Kid I was when Dad got my nose showed how to take your thumb apart Oh, and the trick with the hats and cigarette butts How to worm a hook … Continue Reading Grown up
Everything, and the kitchen sink
* Mental health triggers, suicidal ideation* God. You know, I’m just washing dishes, feeling useful and kind of self-satisfied. Haven’t dropped anything or cut myself, even though the bothersome cat … Continue Reading Everything, and the kitchen sink
The road is long
In fable days I took a dare to try the mortal maze They shut the door when I went in to walk its narrow ways I felt a fool and … Continue Reading The road is long
No words
Looking back, I think she was afraid when I saw her truth. We had never spoken, but in the group sessions, she surprised me with split second glances and strange … Continue Reading No words
Puppers
We were nine. I believed everything you said. Touching a toad gave you warts. Step on a crack, you break your mother’s back. Kill a spider and it rains. We … Continue Reading Puppers
Hurry hard
Each of us wanted safety.Father, from trouble’s horde.Mother, from father.We chickens, from the storm. All of us were running,and love was hard pressed to keep up.Adolescence held confusion, guilt,and strange … Continue Reading Hurry hard
Shamblings
I taped my mouth shut for ten years, ‘til a professional told me it was wrong, I should wean. There were pills, too, that hypnotized the disobedient sleep, then upsold … Continue Reading Shamblings
A pause for thought
The slant of the sun. The moss-green mechanic with his fat cigar, chuffing like a chimney. The little kid threesome on the gravel shoulder, fist-pumping the diesel driver. and the … Continue Reading A pause for thought
One track mind
Tell out loud how good coffee lingers like nicotine fingers. Remember now how a curly head kid had to keep up with Dad, no proffered hand, in a strange land … Continue Reading One track mind
The wanting
In an evening of pine perfume and soft needle carpets, we sat in the scout group, fire-entranced. And laughed, as neglected marshmallows blackened and fell into flame. Outhouse-bound, I didn’t … Continue Reading The wanting
Waste not, want not
For his end time, we flocked together from our compass points, and gathered by his bedside. Like the fresh faces on Auntie Em’s farm after Dorothy’s dream. In his life, … Continue Reading Waste not, want not
My Man
hunch up those shoulders carry that hollow barrel chest on spindly trembling legs practice your ghostly motions stare obscenely out of eyes like yellowed olives your gates are closed for … Continue Reading My Man
Ideations
She called me. We went rushing in two cars. His promise was empty, though. Passed out, half on the floor, half on the couch. She smacked him in the face, … Continue Reading Ideations
Dad’s wish
Dad’s been long in his grave. We didn’t know each other, really. At nineteen, I felt like a fake, attending bedside vigils, not knowing what to say or do. When … Continue Reading Dad’s wish
Steel and glass
Just today, 55 years after the crash, Stuart’s face has appeared to me once more in a dream. I don’t know why I remember this, especially now, in my 69th year, … Continue Reading Steel and glass
