I had seen the old lady before, getting on at 79th riding up to Clark division. She sat in the same place each day, rain or shine, while I went further up the rail, to my job near Argyle. While the Chicago commuter car rocked back and forth, and we all read our papers or … Continue reading A Naked Heart
Month: September 2018
That Damned Mirror
That old man is staring at me again, blue eyes like beacons burning into me, searing my soul. At first, I think I know him, then not! Does he know me from before? Did I meet him long, long ago? I did not mean to look in the mirror, it was a mistake. I have … Continue reading That Damned Mirror
Heartbeats, Ba Whish, Ba Doom
Nested between the heartbeats, you first heard the song of life, ba whish, ba doom. You can hear the song again, you just have to listen to the silence just below your hurried life. So loud in its clamor, yet so small in its reach. In the womb, you heard ba whish, ba doom, and … Continue reading Heartbeats, Ba Whish, Ba Doom
My Creek
The cotton bolls cling to my denim thighs as I push through the old furrows of the earth. Plowed dirt finds cracks in my shoes and fills the spaces in between. I smell layers of dirt, honeysuckle vine, cotton plants, and heat. The insects sing to me in frustration as their wings flap on air … Continue reading My Creek
Harry Hated all, But
There was Harry, the meanest man I knew. I had walked far enough away from my car for it to begin cooling, those little metallic snaps chasing me into the yard. Harry looked at me through his wiry gray eyebrows, with a face filled with lines that could have been a sketch of a mountain. … Continue reading Harry Hated all, But
A Son with No Father
Mr. Peterson looked at me through a veil of white and silver hairs, hanging just past, below, and above his piercing green eyes. His eyes seemed to burrow into everything me, into my darkest recesses. Peterson's heavy face had at least 5 days of unshaven white and silver hairs. I had just arrived in my … Continue reading A Son with No Father
Hidden Love
“Oh my, Lori!” Gracie stated. “You are old enough for the truth. But, really, do you want to know, eh? How will you look at me, if I tell you the truth? How will you talk to me, after I tell you the truth? What will you tell your children about their grandmother, if I … Continue reading Hidden Love
My Blankets of Time
Covered I am. Quite warm and content, I be. Not needing to eat or want or breed. Lost here beneath Mother Earth for far too long I am. One with the worms and beetles and knots of the roots above. Sent here so long ago, time has no meaning nor borders for me. Once, I … Continue reading My Blankets of Time
Earn, While you Burn
Timmy, as you get to be twelve and a half, let me tell you about the world and where I would like you to be. I know, I am old! You know it. But, along this path of life and misery, I have learned a few things. Oh, you have all the youth and energy, … Continue reading Earn, While you Burn
Grannie’s Biscuits
From a deep sleep, the smell of baking biscuits greased with lard pulls me higher towards awakening. The sound of humming. Who? Where? Oh yeah, Grannies house. Darkroom, the flicker of light through the hinges and below the door near the wooden floor. Coal-fired stove, you know? I feel a thrill, throw my heavy covers … Continue reading Grannie’s Biscuits
