emma was nine and her parents were protective. “stay where we can see you,” they’d say when she played outside. her friends rode the bus home from school and had keys to their houses; very self-sufficient at such a young age. but emma only rode the bus when her mother was home to receive her. … Continue reading if it doesn’t rain
Tag: fiction
we came upon a tree that barely survived another hard winter. "will," grandma said. "that's some will." i looked to my small brother. i'm not sure he understood what she meant that day, but he examined intently the way the tree held up the sky in its frail, skeletal limbs. grandma died the following year. … Continue reading the inspirationist
"where does it bloom?" as they walked, she pointed to a ridge overlooking a deep ravine. he followed her quietly and recalled the sight of the olympus jutting proudly above the red sand. how far have we come? they seemed to have traveled out and back across the distant reaches of forever. time had been … Continue reading a time for love and beauty
a drop of condensed breath weaves a path down the heavily perspiring pane. visibility through the glass is nonexistent. he sighs. "it's beautiful." air escapes and a plume of frost billows out from behind the door. a scent of space and starlight enfolds him like an alien blanket. it's something he barely knows. vaguely aware … Continue reading the capsule
standing at the edge of my father's bed, i remembered what i wanted to say... and wept.
i still look at your old house on ogden when i pass in hopes that i may see myself outside your door. i wasn’t so much a young man then, but younger still than today and full of the hope i promised you at 3 a.m. on the cool pavement of your porch, or barefooted … Continue reading emma’s house revisited