Mr. Express
The stars are out. They stand next to you at the bar. A blonde in red sequins takes out her compact. The harlequin in flesh colored pants. She licks her lollipop like an erotic migraine. Continue reading Mr. Express
What is (the Point of) Narrative Poetry?
Most narrative poetry does not fully articulate a story so much as construct its scaffolding and allude to its content with imagery and lyricism. Continue reading What is (the Point of) Narrative Poetry?
Like Isis for Osiris
His get well soon card is lighter than expected, almost not there at all. No I LOVE YOU like so often before. No MY SECRET BEAUTY. Only one sentence saying he is going back to White Mountain. Continue reading Like Isis for Osiris
Among the Wreckage
Everyone in the waiting room of the city towing office smells drunk. Even the children. The tape that secures the bandage to your face no longer sticks, and the gauze brushes your lips where it has fallen from your nose. Continue reading Among the Wreckage
Unfortunately, This Story is Not a Good Fit and Your Life is a Joke
Part of the problem was that every sentence you wrote made us want to vomit. Personally, when I finished reading your submission (and by finished, I mean gave up after page three), I felt like Abraham walking away from a burning Sodom and Gomorrah after failing to identify a single, redeemable soul. Continue reading Unfortunately, This Story is Not a Good Fit and Your Life is a Joke
Pasta Heart
The doctor says he can’t hear anything. He presses the stethoscope harder against my chest. Not a thing, he says, and his mouth hangs open. It actually hangs open like a question. Continue reading Pasta Heart
How to Read a Book, According to Stock Photos
According to the Pew Research Center, the average American only reads four books in a year, and 27 percent of us read none at all. I came across these stats a few weeks ago and felt immediately burdened by a payload of poopy shame, because my numbers aren’t exactly ahead of the pack. But then I remembered Gus Van Sant’s fictional psychotherapist telling poor Will … Continue reading How to Read a Book, According to Stock Photos
Excerpt from “The Claustrophobes”
Though we admit this to no one, our daughter was an “accident.” Three months into marriage was far too soon, considering we dated for just over a year and skipped the engagement completely. Many of our friends waited years to bear children or still don’t have them. I often joke that Lizzy and I are on the “accelerated adulthood program,” but secretly mourn the loss … Continue reading Excerpt from “The Claustrophobes”
Excerpt from “The Moderator”
In this video, Lilian is waiting for you on the couch, carefully poised in a violet bustier and knee-high stockings. She is twirling a strand of her hair, biting her lip with a single tooth. You wonder how long she’s been sitting there holding that pose, that face. In a normal universe—not if she were a different woman, but if you were a different man—you … Continue reading Excerpt from “The Moderator”
Honest Horoscope: Thanksgiving Day, 2016
Aries (March 21 – April 19) This morning, moons Phobos and Deimos were seen slinking away from Mars after a 4.5 billion-year sham romance that they claim was never intended to be serious. According social media, your life is a whirlwind of love and sex and flirtation, but today, as you sit around the dining room table with your newly-married father, your younger sister and … Continue reading Honest Horoscope: Thanksgiving Day, 2016
