William Dickey’s Desk
An oak roll-top with a locking lever
to keep out snoops,
antique with a brass plate
from George H. Fuller in San Francisco–
Making Friends With the Lawn
Lawns were work. Not only did people have to cut them, but just like in Ecclesiastes, there was a time to scatter seeds, a time to fertilize, and a time to spray for bugs. It seemed endless, a weekend ritual of cutting grass, grass that always grew back. It was like Sisyphus rolling a rock up a hill, and then it rolling back down again. Wby?
Dental Hygiene
The dental hygienist didn’t talk about her boyfriend or her latest home improvement project or even the movie she saw on Netflix, so funny, she couldn’t stop laughing. She yanks a blue hydration tube. Bangs cover her eyes, a mask hides her mouth. She is a friendly mole dressed in a smock with pictures of […]
Two Places Now Available for Purchase
“Lenore Weiss’ psychic linguistic engagement borders on the transcendent, the mystical and familiar.”
–Sharon Doubiago, author and member, PEN Oakland
Paschal Lamb
and maybe it will be a promised land when values can run wild
and trump the Trumps everywhere
Sisters
For years I didn’t like either one of you, felt I was returning the favor— the baby, an annoyance, an inconvenience, the one you dragged on the subway to go ice-skating, left me holding the railing. In a one-bedroom apartment, slept on a twin bed in the corner of the room, got up early on […]
The Sprite of Latham Fountain
The cry of Canadian Geese stirs leaves. She climbs a tea tree, hides her clothing behind a rock. Her naked thighs shimmy along each knot of bark.
The Morgue, the Merrier
Satchmo, of course; the Marsalis family, naturally, even Ann Rice, and her vampirish underground. But me living in Louisiana? You’ve got to be kidding! I got here on subways and BART trains, sidewalks, public parks, and noise made by people, not insects whining for hours in the summer heat loud enough to drown out a […]
Medical Checkups in Sterlington, LA
Not only did I have to relinquish my California Driver’s License when I moved to Louisiana, I also had to move the cornerstones of my material world. I’m talking about car and health insurance, and was much pleased to discover that I had to pay a lot less for both. I really didn’t mind about […]
Houdini’s Cousin in the Storage Unit
…won Flash Fiction Friday at The Portland Review.