The House of Missing Keys, Part 11

“Lieutenant Chan, good evening,” said the huge shadow. Chan recognized the voice immediately. The bartender of the Holo Holo Bar … More

We’ll Meet Again (for AT)

It’s April, the cruel one, and still heavy jacket chilly.Madison in April sometimes feel like mid-winter.I recall those odd days … More

The House of Missing Keys, Part 6

David Chan sat at his desk trying hard to read and not think about the keys. So if this athletic … More

To the Rescue

You didn’t finish the yard work, only half the bedroom’s painted.Dishes lie in the sink, and you hear the bathroom … More

Transistor Days

On the square, silver Sony radiowith the cheap black leatherette wrist strapI always feared would snap,our soundtrack falling lost into … More

The Fruits of Love’s Labor

May I write a song for us?Maybe about our family tree?How about our hawking birds and stinging bees?The scheme of … More

Envy

Someone says, “Mine is better than yours.”It’s that old schoolyard boast,the anger instantaneously rumbling up,separating two children playing to fierce … More

Beg Pardon

You use your arms to disguise your breasts as elbows,to stop the wind from licking at them,or cross yourself against … More

Taken

The convertible top was seven years old now. Under good conditions, Chris figured it would have held up for many … More

The Last Time I Called “Time”

It was probably on a push-button phone.I remember how novel it felt to get one of those,replacing the rotary dial-up model that had … More

Good Riddance

Our local theaters do good work, bringing drama into our lives. Usually when I go, I’m happy, but this was … More

This Was the Way

I left you there for just a moment, at the forest’s edge, before we began our journey. When I returned … More

A Pressing Need

If you hadn’t heard, I’m sure you could guess that living in Hawai’i is expensive.  Many people have two jobs, some … More

The Musical Life

Sometimes he wished life were a movie. But not just any movie. From the first time he fell in love … More

Very Superstitious?

Here’s my rough draft for today, Sunday 01.23.22. Very Superstitious? I toss the salt over my shoulder, but I never … More

The End of Innocence

Here’s my rough draft for today, Sunday 01.16.22 The End of the Innocence Imagine the biggest chocolate bar you could … More

Walking Through Downtown Honolulu

With her tousled white hair and shredded clothes, the elderly Japanese woman appears to be someone living on the street. … More

In the Hood

Well this is easy, I think,reading the simple instructionson the small piece of paper inside the plastic bag.But it’s not … More

This and That and That

He’d read about why they put the chicken all that long way in the back of the store.  It was what … More

This is an ex-poem

This used to be a poem, but now it’s not. I tried to make it pretty, but it didn’t turn … More