Posts Tagged: fiction
Disturbance
The bass thumps so loud and hard that the half-open bathroom window rattles in time. It opens to a backyard packed with people writhing and bouncing on a makeshift dance floor under festoons of lights and a painted black sky.
Disturbance
The bass thumps so loud and hard that the half-open bathroom window rattles in time. It opens to a backyard packed with people writhing and bouncing on a makeshift dance floor under festoons of lights and a painted black sky.
We Have to Remember Every Detail
The pool is an empty blue eye staring at the sky. By the time the police arrive, the long fingers of the trees’ shadows touch the edges of the water. The swimmers have withdrawn to the locker rooms to rinse
We Have to Remember Every Detail
The pool is an empty blue eye staring at the sky. By the time the police arrive, the long fingers of the trees’ shadows touch the edges of the water. The swimmers have withdrawn to the locker rooms to rinse
LA ==> SF
Charlotte takes one hand off the steering wheel to slide her sunglasses down her nose. “Light a cigarette, would you?” “Did you bring any?” asks Leigh. “Of course not. You know I don’t smoke.” Leigh lights the cigarette and hands
LA ==> SF
Charlotte takes one hand off the steering wheel to slide her sunglasses down her nose. “Light a cigarette, would you?” “Did you bring any?” asks Leigh. “Of course not. You know I don’t smoke.” Leigh lights the cigarette and hands
knocking
At first I expected an answer. There was no doubt that someone would hear me knocking. The door will open any moment now because that’s how it works—knock and the door opens: on this we can all depend. After awhile, I
knocking
At first I expected an answer. There was no doubt that someone would hear me knocking. The door will open any moment now because that’s how it works—knock and the door opens: on this we can all depend. After awhile, I
the first day
Teacher (poses with her props—a stack of papers, a tweedy blazer, and a pair of reading glasses—behind the lectern at the front of the room): Hello class, and welcome to AP English. Student (a beefy boy at the back of
the first day
Teacher (poses with her props—a stack of papers, a tweedy blazer, and a pair of reading glasses—behind the lectern at the front of the room): Hello class, and welcome to AP English. Student (a beefy boy at the back of
In case of emergency
There are two doors in our house: one in front and one in back. That should be sufficient, but you never know. There are two windows in the kitchen, but only one is big enough to crawl through. There’s a
In case of emergency
There are two doors in our house: one in front and one in back. That should be sufficient, but you never know. There are two windows in the kitchen, but only one is big enough to crawl through. There’s a
Elevator
They’re on the elevator on the third floor, trying to get to the fourth. He pushes the button for the basement, realizes his mistake, and hits the button for four. Only the basement button lights up. She says, “That’s the
Elevator
They’re on the elevator on the third floor, trying to get to the fourth. He pushes the button for the basement, realizes his mistake, and hits the button for four. Only the basement button lights up. She says, “That’s the
feather, finger, pen
The other day my 75-year-old father came for a visit. We went to pick up my daughter Gwyn from elementary school and then to a café where he treated her to a hot chocolate. Gwyn sits in her chair, swinging
feather, finger, pen
The other day my 75-year-old father came for a visit. We went to pick up my daughter Gwyn from elementary school and then to a café where he treated her to a hot chocolate. Gwyn sits in her chair, swinging
smackdown
(A sea of darkness surrounds a boxing ring glowing as bright as a neon disco floor in a pitch black nightclub.) MC: Welcome mateys and estrogen, Portnoys and pearls, to the ultimate fight, an epic karmic kerfuffle, the Last Circle
movie star on the wall
(Note: “I” is an unknown writer and “Mae” is a famous movie star. I would like an interview with Mae, but Mae won’t return her calls.) I stand in front of the mirror dripping on my apartment floor as I
movie star on the wall
(Note: “I” is an unknown writer and “Mae” is a famous movie star. I would like an interview with Mae, but Mae won’t return her calls.) I stand in front of the mirror dripping on my apartment floor as I
roadside attraction
My stepmother’s eyes bulging with anger, my father’s lips pressed into a flat line: this was what I held the laminated menu in front of my face for. So I couldn’t see them. See or be seen. Behind creamed corn
roadside attraction
My stepmother’s eyes bulging with anger, my father’s lips pressed into a flat line: this was what I held the laminated menu in front of my face for. So I couldn’t see them. See or be seen. Behind creamed corn
xmas rejection song
All wholly shit. My time is wasted rhyming. Who wants to hear me complain? Come flay me now, paper cuts to silver lining then fill each hole up with spackle and paint. I’ll take my fill of dope and wine
xmas rejection song
All wholly shit. My time is wasted rhyming. Who wants to hear me complain? Come flay me now, paper cuts to silver lining then fill each hole up with spackle and paint. I’ll take my fill of dope and wine
naked
The other day at the bookstore, a man brings a stack of items to the register. He’s jabbering intensely about the weather and fiddling with the buttons on his jacket when I notice the P*****y Magazine. The girl on the
naked
The other day at the bookstore, a man brings a stack of items to the register. He’s jabbering intensely about the weather and fiddling with the buttons on his jacket when I notice the P*****y Magazine. The girl on the
house in my head
I have a house in my head. At night I clamber up to look around. I found it years ago-reaching into darkness, fumbling along walls I discovered the opening and hoisted myself up into a low-ceilinged room, close, cobwebbed, clogged
house in my head
I have a house in my head. At night I clamber up to look around. I found it years ago-reaching into darkness, fumbling along walls I discovered the opening and hoisted myself up into a low-ceilinged room, close, cobwebbed, clogged
forgotten
(…) Is there a sticky residue marking the place where you first fell in love? What if someone died there or cut themselves and bled all over or broke a bone? Does trauma leave a trace? If you lived in a
forgotten
(…) Is there a sticky residue marking the place where you first fell in love? What if someone died there or cut themselves and bled all over or broke a bone? Does trauma leave a trace? If you lived in a
house head
(…this post is continued from here…) My father wanted a bigger house so we moved around the corner to 94 Roosevelt Avenue, a cavernous old haunted thing under deep shade. Even from the outside you could feel the psychic congestion
house head
(…this post is continued from here…) My father wanted a bigger house so we moved around the corner to 94 Roosevelt Avenue, a cavernous old haunted thing under deep shade. Even from the outside you could feel the psychic congestion
