Long Distance Call
Long-distance call The light is long and low and static in the Irish sky, forming Atlantic currents of memory that catch the cross-country coach, that send it swimming in the self-bound surf. Your call breaks the electric silence of childhood, of waiting, of adolescence like a premature tidal jump,
Our Man Abel
(START) Our man Abel cannot sleep. He cannot think. He is writhing and naked on a white sheet on a thin mattress. He cannot sleep because he is psychically aware of the gory misdeeds of others, they saturate his mind like salt in water, in open wounds, as soon as he closes his eyes. […
Overnight Delivery
It’s a strange courage you give me, ancient star: Shine alone in the sunrise toward which you lend no part! – William Carlos Williams Ricardo couldn’t decide whether the swell seemed quiet this evening, or if he was losing his hearing because he was sixty-five. He reflected on the a
The Snail, Or Nancy
When I write her into a story, the first thing I do is make her older. She’s in her thirties, age starting to show on her face, but still dressing young. In real life, I have left California, and soon she will too. We know things will never be like this again, but one day, […]
How Things Are Here
Boon Hian shoots a hundred free throws before he allows himself to leave. It’s dark now, and everyone else is gone. Termites flit around above him, drawn by the smell of rain out and towards the floodlights. They come to mate and leave, but instead they fly in circles – banging against the plast
Magpie
In the hallway, I can feel the walls breathing. Furniture is sparse, and the woodwork is mahogany. There is a framed map of Canada to my left. Through the window above the staircase, a shard of sun pierces the room and lands squarely on a vase of oriental lilies, bathing them in a quiet yellow [&hel