Precious Cargo

Kevin Keating

On any other summer day, someone would have spotted Anson flailing in the heavy surf, a conscientious mother lathering sunscreen on her toddler under one of the pastel umbrellas that dotted the beach, a divorced dad helping the daughter he hasn’t seen in two weeks build an elaborate sandcastle near the water’s edge, weekend boaters sunbathing aboard their pricey pontoons ... Read More

Waking Early to Birdsong I Think of Our History of Loss

Gerry LaFemina
Predawn sparrows aflutter, chirrup chirrup, under the awning by my window, & the littler cat already by the glass cracking the knuckles of both paws, as if dreaming of feathers & marrow. How Mao Zedong ordered their killing—one of four pests to be eradicated. The Great Leap Forward. Thus 1958 was filled with gunfire & the beating of drums, so ... Read More

Sic Transit

Robert L. Penick

The fog is burning off Interstate 71 and it looks like the steam that rises when a piece of hot iron goes from the crucible into the water. The trees have waited later than ever before to turn, but this late October is brilliant. If you were religious, you’d feel like you were in a church, a grand testament to ... Read More

THE SLIME OF THE SMALL WORLD

Susan Taylor Chehak

You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their feet because that’s the only part of themselves that they can really see. Except their hands, you say, and that’s good too. Rings and nails and polish and whatnot. Swollen joints. Keloids on the inner wrist. All very telling. But the feet, that’s something else.

I used to ... Read More

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