My brother Joe only sees the best of our mother. Whereas I recall her hands flying about my girlish body like angry birds, he recalls her fondly nursing him during his various childhood ailments. He...

In those first days after your death,when I couldn’t cry,there was nothing sadder than things you left behind. Nothing sadder than the two tea bags of your favorite teathat I found in a shoe box you...

Steven stepped out of his house onto the porch into the cool morning air. The sun was just coming up and the darkness was receding, giving the neighborhood a blue hue. He put his hands on his hips...

The man who was probably hitting on her was more handsome than Lexie first thought, though wildly age-inappropriate.  He had a combination of features striking on males of any age, but especially...

I’m going faster than the signs limit, but slower than the other cars barreling through the toll plaza. Before I even see it, a car is right up behind me, that’s how fast they’re going. As soon as...

Wild as myth, silent as fateHe is not king, nor knave,Yet wild in hate,Sances between them like smoke—a riddle in the deck,Keeps the enemies close and friends richerSmiles with bare allegiance,...

Now that they were gone he felt a little lost. Moving away had been an exciting adventure; but after that, then what? It was wonderful, of course. They had the same things at home – pastries, coffee,...

“Yes, you are in fact, dead. I know this can be hard to hear.” Death said with a compassionate smile “I can’t “help” you, but I like to offer one thing. Your last. I will show you your last. What...

Beneath the stark glare of a harsh bathroom bulb, he had no problem locating crow’s feet and frown lines and the three horizontals etched in his forehead.  Red blotches and brown skin discolorations...

In my retirement years I like to listen to music of the 70s when I attended graduate school at the University of Kansas. One morning in early July one song by James Taylor instantly evoked memories...

The prow of the boat faced black water while the divers found their traps in the wet cold, the howl of their lights breaking windy waves. Jim Carter turned west, away from that hum, past the scratc...

Feathers twisted through the air,Tangled and caught,In the aimless descentOf a dying spirit.No longer joined to muscle and boneOr unified by movementAnd the intuition of flight,They settled to...

The canopies that cover the street obscure my vision, so it’s not until he’s upon me that I spot him. Jennifer! – he sticks out his hand – how are you? – and goes from handshake to hug. Oh wow! How...

Before sunrise on January 4, 1909, Frank Ulysses Grant was up and eager to start his day. Over the New Year’s weekend, Frank’s thoughts turned to whether he should remain single or get married. On...

I’m essentially a first-generation Mexican American or Chicano, born and raised in El Paso. I later learned that Nana Cuca and her family fled their hacienda during the Mexican revolution when rebels...

Clarence realized he couldn’t get up.  He lay flat on his back on the hard ground.  Slowly, he rolled over on his stomach trying to remember what had happened.  His legs had given out.  But why? ...

and slowly I would rise and dressfearing the chronic angers of that houseRobert Hayden Well into adulthood I remember my motherwould walk with me in the pre-dawngrade school days, bundled against...

Their first train was streamlined, modern, and fast—an engineering marvel that streaked through the countryside in a blur. The French called it le train à grande vitesse, and when it ran, it was a...

Rain was steadily beating against the windshield.  Rain — one factor the travelers had not counted on. This was to be a weekend getaway to help Jessie and Scott repair their troubled relationship....

I. Flicker A bulb flickers /a tired eye closing /and then / nothing.The walls whisper.And silence comes next /not of peace / no /but of ten people holding breath.At the edge of a day unravelling...