Then, there was the next time, the last time, the one time when things became grand enough to unfurl all sense of belonging, a hearty red ribbon, carried behind, blowing in deep ripples, red, yes red, always red. What was red? She never knew, and never wanted to know about red—the red of roses or […]
Spring 2011
My co-workers greeted me in the faculty lounge of the Las Vegas private school where I teach American literature with hugs and slaps on the back, as if I’d just finished a long, grueling race, a race I’d run with such speed, made up with such endurance and stamina, that I’d broken records. We stood […]
I never meant for you to wake up. What I wanted and prayed for was not what I meant to happen. Your friction-warmed surface, your curves my own hands carved and defined, your medium too rich and hard to be worn away in one man’s lifetime—I would never have given all this up, my love, […]
Under the Mercy Trees by Heather Newton
Bring Down the Little Birds by Carmen Giménez Smith