For the Future

Right now, we’re on a South Korean island, Jeju,sitting in what China calls the East China Sea,and what the Koreans, … More

Not So Sweet

We five have known each other more than 30 years.Post-pandemic, we meet for coffee, jokingthat we’ve become the senior citizens … More

The beginning’s in the end, you know.Good advice, like how a closing door signalssome new one opening, or a window, … More

Whenever we met, Alan would gift mewith the latest collection of short storieshe’d found while browsing used bookstores. Whenever we … More

We were sitting in her office, and she blew a cloud of smoke into the air above us,her lips positioned … More

Have you ever been curious about the notionthat when you are about to die, your lifewill flash before your eyes? … More

I remember the dawn’s first early light,silhouettes of darkened heads bob love,no secret anymore, amore in paradise,no strangers to me … More

I quit watching the clock some time ago. Factssuch as my age, or what day or month or yearit is often escape … More

I’ve had this dream before, variations of it, many times.This morning it was my final dream of the night,so right … More

When you can’t kill the deer it’s okay to say okay. Give in to life and let live. The one … More

If I’ve told these people once, I’ve told them a thousand times:let sleeping dragons lie, folks, for roused, they’re bad … More

Holy moly, how this warrior keeps waltzing out of hell;It would be a drag, I suppose, if he lost a … More

She’s one ugly mother, but I’ve witnessed worse,turned down dates with women not far from this foul.I have standards, you … More

I see him limp home, his arm torn from his shoulder,mumbling weird words about a mighty stranger,some foreign crazed killer … More

Now he knew he’d see anything coming.Whatever it was, it couldn’t hide from or surprise him.He’d been taken unawares before, … More

I saw his claws. They resembled handswrapped around a sword’s handle too tightly,bloodless white in the fearful death-gripof his cautions … More

Sarah’s grave looks new, well newer, and spreads outto a green grass field, the unfilled spaces for future use,to be … More

There is no one who knows a father’s kneebetter than a child who wraps his armsaround that knee and clings to it like … More

Why do I remember how elm treesdied along the avenues in Madison?Blighted. Some disease. Blamethe Dutch? Really? What an honorto … More

Sometimes it’s a straight line,the closest distance between two points.But it’s not necessarily a flat line.For some, yes, that’s true, … More