[[bpstrwcotob]]
Two Pieces
“Make me a promise,” she said to him when they were lying in bed, although it was not night, and he said, “What promise?” and she said, “You shouldn’t have to ask.”
I Am in a Room Alone
with the only music of the morning traffic, those who must rise to drive to labor, and a window often curtained and closed, and in winter, the radiator hissing, the kind from another century, the kind you must be careful or it will burn you.
Lunar Logic
There is a prequel and a sequel, then the cataclysm returns to its chrysalis, an odorless and colorless but very viscous liquid. It's been nanoseconds since my last deathbed confession.
The Wounded Stork
The dead bird on the front-door step was a barn swallow. Makhosi recognized the copper face and glossy blue hood that continued towards a forked tail. Its clawed feet were tucked together, as if it had been arranged there.
Union Pacific
Behind my house are the railroad tracks where Cassidy Jackson found the pair of legs. They were cut just below the knees, but it wasn’t a clean cut; they were crushed, and the bones looked like an Otter Pop had been smashed by a hammer.
Pottery Royalty
On my third day in East Liverpool, I walked into an antique store on a narrow street that climbed gently up from the Ohio River. Its neighbors were a boarded-up auto repair shop and a Christian bookstore, open but deserted. The sidewalks were empty, with grass growing in the cracks.
Two Poems from “When the Wind talks to Us”
My name is Ketia / Not Katia, Kesha or Keisha / There’s no S so don’t let the T tease ya / into thinking otherwise
Power Save
People will surprise you sometimes, and not because it’s your birthday or anniversary or because you were promoted at work. They surprise you without saying, “surprise!” Sometimes they mean you harm and sometimes they’re merely incompetent.
The Scandal at Pebble Elementary
Pacific reaches for the valley. / In side glances see-throughs / in fuchsia dawns and hell fire dusks / with a latent thrust of impudence: / outer space beckons to the sea trench.