by Paula Goldman
The stone stands its ground,
Worn away turning
in the whirls of surf,
chuffed to the beach, sun-
drenched, rain-washed,
a map of injuries. Continue reading
The Necklace
Filed under Poetry
What Morning Is
by Lauren Becker, from the recently published collection, If I Would Leave Myself Behind (originally appeared in Matchbox)
No one knew what to do when the lights went out. Some went to sleep because the lights were out anyways. Some went to bed but didn’t go to sleep. The time would go more quickly. Some ate the ice cream. The ones who were alone were mostly scared. Some ate the ice cream, but were scared anyways. Continue reading
Filed under Fiction
Under Stars
by Roy Bentley
To the northwest, the continual racket and candelabra of a refinery,
its stoop-shouldered rigging an exhausted colossus. To the southeast,
a trailer park named for a tributary of the Licking River, Ramp Creek,
a fouled rivulet reduced to toxic run-off no one in his or her right mind
would drink. Each day, the eyes of those who live here open onto this.
Each night, these constellations spin imperceptibly over the real work Continue reading
Reason for Return
by Rita Ciresi
After Christmas, I unwrapped his presents. The paper pictured a child in the manger, angels blowing trumpets, and a cornucopia that spilled out in cursive script Blessings Blessings Blessings.
I’m known in our house as the thrifty one. I reuse giftwrap from year to year. Collect soap slivers. Turn lotion and shampoo bottles upside down to coax out the last drop. But that day I ripped the angels off each box. Crumpled the Blessings. Left the child in the manger in shreds. Continue reading
Filed under Fiction
Quang Ngai, 1968
by Robert Karaszi
In this geometry of a dream
I’m back where the sun,
a monstrous orb
pours savage light
through rockweed.
Starlings like gray halos
circle then arrow
into mangroves. Continue reading
