Mrs. Kelley droned about passive voice, prepositions and the evils of adverb abuse. Holly should have been listening. Knowing her luck there was sure to be a pop quiz she’d be ill prepared for if she didn’t. The old battle-ax had warned her not once, or twice, but three times that doodling in […]
Read more "Two Dimensional"Tug of war between tiny hands and large ones Dropped inside the bag Zipper rasps Dark is something I am not used to The girl always keeps the lamp lit Rubs my mane with grubby fingers that pause then stop with deep even breaths. I can hear the moan and sigh of the other toys […]
Read more "Pony Dreams"Seasons turn Fits and starts of sunny days Cold nights bite and snatch our heat I am impatient Spring makes fools of us all Temperatures climb above freezing Runners in shorts, thin shirts Splashing sandy salted water against calves tensed and flexed Plastic sunflowers planted in brown crusts of ice Lolling and nodding under […]
Read more "Vernal"Body hits the atmosphere Plummeting from star specked airless void Flames lick across its white shift One wing flaps, the other hangs limp, lifeless Flame blooms upon dry surfaces turning white edged black Shooting down, consumed and wished upon
Read more "Fallen"Micah liked to pretend he wasn’t a nervous wreck. Sometimes it was even true. He could go long stretches certain that it was all in his head. That the ladies behind the checkstands at the grocery store weren’t whispering behind their hands, that his overbearing sister was only checking on him because she […]
Read more "Fences Make Good Neighbors"One by one, I placed them on my tongue. Close the lips, push the morsel to the roof of my mouth melting into a nearly liquid bittersweet puddle before being swallowed. The bag was big, twenty lbs, purchased from Costco, for better holiday baking. She would be angry. She would give me hell for this. […]
Read more "Chips"He seems a perfect gentleman on paper SWM, 6’2” looking for fun and friendship, LTR material No Fatties I touch my stomach, the swell and bulge at belly and hip No one’s idea of beautiful unless I pull at my cheeks suck in my chin, envision that mythic woman She of the visible collarbone […]
Read more "No Fatties"Kyle hated the disinfectant they used to clean the capsules. The nose wrinkling hint of long dead lilies tugged at his awareness. Being on the edge of a sneeze was distracting and itchy. He rubbed at his nose. Took off his glasses and scratched from the bridge to the end. Great, now in […]
Read more "Growing Pains"Maria should have known it was too good to be true. She had allowed her hope to override her good sense. She’d learned, sitting in the emergency room, trying not to look at her mangled leg, that a little hope is dangerous thing. Getting used to having one leg wasn’t so hard. She had […]
Read more "The Price"Dena waited. Sometimes she felt like she’d been waiting her whole life. Waiting to be tall enough that her feet touched the floor of the van when she sat. Smart enough that the sounds and syllables that issued from adult mouths made sense. Pretty enough that some boy, any boy would do, might […]
Read more "Waiting"