Dragonflies on stained-glass wings skim over a lake. Their reflections flash like finely cut jewels on the surface of the water. Ancient creatures, unchanged for countless millennia, the sound of their flight vibrates in the air with a song much older than man.
An old man walks through a rice paddy. His shoes are worn. The [...]
that saying “April showers, bring May flowers.”
May 12th
My life is under control once again. I’m happy. This brand new baby boy is the light of my life. He’s my first, and I wish it could have only happened sooner. His smile allows me to forget past troubles. His face portends a brighter future. His eyes [...]
On some nights in the lambent, moonlit air shadows of tall pines and burial mounds seem to dance and move volitionally all along the mountain. They tumble and chase one another like children or young animals at play.
There are stories that tell of those who long ago tended the warning beacons for which this mountain [...]
It was my first day on the job as a clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the line stood about twenty people deep. I looked over to a Gorilla who sat at his desk. This Gorilla was at least fifty pounds overweight and wore glasses that constantly slipped down the bridge of his [...]
Yesterday, a young man came by my house and asked if I’d like to participate in a revolution. His organization had been going from door to door in all of the significant neighborhoods, he explained, collecting signatures. He asked me if I was outraged.
“I guess I could be happier,” I mused. At this, his face [...]
I introduced my co-worker to a prying website dubbing itself as a public search engine. The virtual nuisance supplies addresses and telephone numbers of almost anyone who is unknowingly in demand. My co-worker began her exploration: a lost class mate, an ex-boyfriend, finally, her father. She delayed her enthusiasm, saving the person she desired most [...]
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness, and to me.
Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds,
Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant [...]
I walk down the empty street. The house is in darkness. The windows stare back at me as if to say, ‘Go now. Don’t be a ghost, haunting these rooms.’
I am an unloved, unlovely woman who… who…
Gina wouldn’t have understood that her words were as good as a punch in the belly, a punch that [...]
Jake scratched his chin. “I thought genies granted three wishes?”
The dark, impish creature grinned and said, “We do… just not like you think.”
“How does it work, then?” Jake asked.
“You get one wish, then I get one wish,” the genie said. “And, if you survive my wish, you will get one more.”
“If I survive?”
“Yes, yes,” the [...]
“Sew him up…and we’ll see what happens.”
The letters were crunchy and a distinct scent of Fritos wafted from them. Dr. Paul Marshall’s name tag would go great with bean dip, Leroy thought. He smacked his dry lips and squinted against the bright light hanging above the operating table. A dull pain pulsed slowly on the [...]
