by Jessica Hudson
Somewhere in a basement in a two-
story house in Philadelphia, a black
body named Wes is on fire. Three
years & he’s still not dead. Now
let’s watch Viola’s eyes unspool
itchy tears, thread the foundation Continue reading
Watching Season 3 of “How to Get Away with Murder” While a Procession of Honking Pickup Trucks Drives by, 2020 TRUMP Flags Flapping
Filed under Poetry
The Bath
by Lowell Jaeger
Toddlers frolic nude
through the lawn sprinkler’s oscillating spray.
Screaming joyfully. Continue reading
Comfort
by Bruce Petronio
Before they start the game, she asks him to get the kitchen timer. She’s sitting upright in the Barcalounger, in a flannel nightgown and a Buff head scarf, the Scrabble Deluxe board on a TV table between them. He gives her a look; they never use a timer, only the Merriam-Webster Collegiate she’s had since grad school a quarter century ago. Continue reading
Horse on a Plane
by Carol Ellis
Last time she flew she sat next to a horse
whose voice harmed no one even as she bent
her head to look out the window. Continue reading
Just Another Family
by Susan Robison
Sharon is done training monkeys for the day. She just taught a nine-inch capuchin how to flip pages for a woman in her seventies with Lou Gehrig’s disease. The monkey, Delores, advanced in years herself with fingers no longer as nimble as they used to be, found it hard to turn each page and often clumped several together. Delores squealed with frustration and finally got down on all fours and looked around the table as if to find an escape route. Sharon had to figure out something not only for the old woman, but for Delores. After trying several strategies including well-timed offerings of pumpkin seeds, she lit on having Delores lick her thumb before turning a page and ta da!—success. Delores’s thrilled vocalizations were so high-pitched she was singing as she licked and flipped. Task complete, she stood and stroked Sharon’s cheek. Continue reading
Filed under Fiction
Hawaii Pacific Review 