By Joni Mayer The baker is open to the public, may have asked his other couples how and where they met—eHarmony, blind date, a Boulder bar, but never Grindr— may have been inspired by those data to use apricot filling in place of peach mousse, to stack four tiers instead of three, may have lied [...]
By Cesca Janece Waterfield Hang a wreath on my maiden door, pubic-black and furled, a bough to say someone has passed over. Bury her pleats and sweet sestinas among spring narcissus, and if you recall the flush, soft breast that slipped free in primeval joy, do not depend on the moon of her aureole now. [...]
By D.A. Gray The men we knew have long since passed. Their bodies still fill the broadest doorways but something in their eyes, their voice has gone replaced by a rage that crackles over the radio. Their bodies still fill the broadest of doorways and their eyes follow us, from great distances. There’s only the rage [...]
A short story by Colin Patrick Ennen Antonia ducked behind a hardware store to catch her breath and avoid puking, thinking there was no way they'd look for her skinny, uncoordinated ass there. Huffing hard, she vowed to get in shape if she made it through this crisis, because either something was buzzing nearby or her [...]
Letter from Guantanamo Seasons don’t matter except for the discomfort they bring. June is just hotter. The Caribbean thuds against Cuba, steaming like soup, saltier than our tears, if anyone cried here. Whether we bear it or not, the pain continues. The interrogator takes his work as seriously as Michelangelo considered the perfect pink of [...]
By Sara Marchant My brother Marvin is calling me, and, as usual, I debate whether to answer the phone. My mother claims she never had an affair with Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David, but my brother is so similar to the self-centered, self-absorbed, neurotic nervous maniac David, that I’m not sure I believe her. I [...]
By Ruth Nolan Many bones have been broken here in the tricky Mojave River quicksand, huge Cottonwood trees taken down, gnawed low to the marrow by beavers. Behind me, the shadow of a man, his fishing pole slung across his shoulder. He tells me he will catch crawdads first, skin and fry a trout or two [...]
By Bola Opaleke – Neither should you, a wise man once said. Even pickaxes and sledgehammers would do just fine – like pickaxe-men or sledgehammer-men. That reminds me of people that left raising a finger of “revenge my death” up so high as the bullet-ridden body thuds. What the soldiers have done to us – young [...]
From: Director of Market Research, Irrational Fears Division To: Executive Director, Enough Already with the Guns, USA (EAWG USA) I’m writing to follow up on our discussion about whether any lessons can be learned from California’s speedy abolition of open carry after the Black Panthers’ armed protest at the state Capitol building in 1966. I understand [...]
By Jemshed Khan Upon hearing that Barrett Brown was jailed (again) SWAT teams rumble streets. Men in black smash down doors. No one bothered to knock 65,000 times last year: Hinges ripped from the jamb with a battering ram or breach grenade. My friend murmurs, [...]
By Anne Anthony Dear Santa, You disappointed me. I was (mostly) good last year. Maybe I cursed, but I was frustrated and baffled. Somehow my family (?), my friends (?), my neighbors (?) voted in a president who—and I’ve got to be honest here—terrifies me. Did you even read my letter?? I quoted Pope Francis, [...]
By Holly Schofield Kelly, the dispatcher, sent the call my way, but Nick caught it too, so my squad car arrived at the beach parking lot a few seconds after his. We hadn't worked together much, but I'd sussed him out long ago. He wasn't one of the good ones—those were rare—but at least he [...]
By Gabriel Mianulli All the problems in the picture are flooding the world Before we have a chance to construct boats for rescue Can’t we have more time to sniff out bullshit politics? Damage has been done, the hurricanes are screaming. Elsewhere, we build bombs that taste like backward progress. Forgotten events didn’t sound their [...]
By Tara Williams Artist’s note: My concept for this painting is the feeling of being disconnected from America, like a neighbor you catch glimpses of, but still don’t know. I wanted it to reflect the moment one finally realizes the appalling things that occur in this nation on a daily basis. While creating this [...]
By Rony Nair 1. Overview Lopsided dreams coalesce into hazy sunsets, pretending to droll out Nintendo games played by our new trumped up incantation. The new war boy. Elected of course. by a war room of nominees with shotguns in their bed. Hawkish foreign policy bytes, words of war, beating up the beaten, hoarse cries [...]
