John Lennon’s Ghost
By James BurtI once went out with someone whose bath was haunted by John Lennon’s ghost. The faint sound of songs he never got to finish came through the pipes.
The Years, The Years
By Diane GottliebWhen the aides on the night shift drift off to sleep, residents jump out of bed. Tiptoe down hallways to the recreation room. First one in hits the lights.
October Again
By Beth ShermanBark peels off the maples. Leaves wither and die, everyone says how beautiful. Sedum turning a muddy green, like rotten asparagus.
Taste Me and You Die
By Chelsea StickleIn the natural world, yellow and black together mean danger. I’m striped like a bumblebee for the Halloween party...
Inheritance
By Keith J. PowellI think of my father taking me to see Batman opening night. Teaching me poker at the cabin.
Photo Story: Taco Truck
By Linda Grierson-IrishDad’s latest between-jobs hobby was circling ads with orange highlighter. Imagine, love! An RV! Airstream? Converted bus?
Photo Story: On Autoimmune Disease
By Lauren VoeltzI read a quote that an overweight woman’s shirt said Guess, and Arnold Schwartzenegger answered, thyroid problem and I think of this when I pop Levothyroxine each morning...
My Lithuanian Holocaust Survivor Grandmother—
By Tamara MCBEFORE: Hot water burbled in samovars. You strolled cobblestone streets, clicking your heels. DURING: You sipped grass soup.
Freckle Inventory
By Anslee WolfeFreckles scatter across his face, neck, arms. They hide beneath clothing. A large one dots his ear. Five pepper his cheek.
When your son, who hates everything, who even hates playing sports,
By Amy R. Martin... asks to play Ultimate Frisbee, you drive him—begrudgingly—to practice. The field is green, squelchy from morning rain. The sky like a Dutch cloud painting.
Photo Story: The Red Shoes
By Karen CrawfordNone of the passengers notice his glare. The lock in his gait, the crush of shoulders, hemming you in.
Coffee Drinks
By Cynthia BelmontoTwenty-two, I was with my first lover, not college-girl exploring but the real deal.
Book Review: The House of Grana Padano
By Celia BlandIn The House of Grana Padano, the collaboration between Meg Pokrass and Jeff Friedman blends rhythms and styles seamlessly. These two masters of the microfiction form generate a dialectic that plays within the rigorous requirements of their chosen genre.
