Monthly Archives: July 2012

Word Count:  301 I am diminished by nightmares. Horrible images flash through my mind in their three-second clarity. Blood running redder than that in my veins. Cliffs that cut open the sky from which people like lemmings tumble over and … Continue reading →

Word Count:  371 These are the hands that maneuvered the broom that swept the body onto the shovel. These are the hands that were inside the gloves that touched the shovel that carried the body and flung it into the … Continue reading →

Word Count:  338 “A little dry, isn’t it?” he said of the pot roast, and “Another minute would have been good for the beans,” he said. She said nothing but watched as he ate. Too many years of worrying. Too … Continue reading →

Word Count: 477 The family left for three weeks in Italy. They took the nanny and butler and maid. The chauffeur was let off for his own vacation, somewhere up north on a lake where he spent every day fishing, … Continue reading →

Word Count:  325 After fifteen married years she got pregnant. Just about when they’d given up hope. She was thrilled, he was beaming, but she warned him they’d have to take every precaution and he willingly agreed to do whatever … Continue reading →

Word Count:  281 She ate carrots for eyesight and hamburg and spinach for protein and iron. Milk and cheese for strong bones. She bought green leafy vegetables and broccoli. Had a peach, pear, and plum every day. She counted her … Continue reading →

Word Count:  246 The leaf lettuce is fanned out and formed from pale chartreuse voile. The brussels sprouts from pipecleaners and blue-green taffeta moire. The peas are from silk strung on wrapped florist wire and the tomatoes are satin-covered styrofoam … Continue reading →

Word Count:  154 Some summer nights now I lay down under the moon in the cucumber patch. Feel the tiny prickles of their stems on bare skin. Feel the soft leaves like hands on my body, caressing my breasts. In … Continue reading →

Word Count:  110 She watered the pepper plants with arsenic. Imagined it winding its way through the stems to the veins of the leaves. She fed indigo ink to the roots of tomatoes, turning them plump and a violent purpley-pink. … Continue reading →

Word Count:  236 He lives in a basement apartment. Must stretch at the small window over the sink to look at the moon. He waits all the long month for the full blue one, the one that won’t slice into … Continue reading →