We thought we were the chosen, called to polish the world and leave it golden, but instead we became radical, helpless, holy but alone. Now we gather in the basement of the Episcopalian Church, stir powdered creamer into burnt coffee and talk about our cults....
Issue Twenty Two
To-Do List
Return baby gifts to givers.a. Sift through rubble for boxes and envelopes.b. Call UPS Store to see if it’s still there.c. Pack gifts into red wagon and attach to wheelchair.d. Take Redondo Road, then make a right on Sapulpa to avoid crevasse on Andreas.Sign divorce...
Old Wives’ Tales
I rock and the baby's weeping is a Möbius strip of anguish. Hot moonlight makes squares on the floor. My hands are slick with sweat and Jeremiah's white t-shirt is damp. Once I walked with him, I touched his nose, I sang a song about an inchworm measuring marigolds,...
Swelling
That’s a baby gull, sweetie. A baby gull? Those exist? A slow, guttural laugh. Of course, jaan, Faree. I know, I know – it’s just – I’ve never seen one before; I’ve never seen a baby – A kiss. Blowy, dry, lipsticky. Human. Tears. I’ll never – Sshh. You’re with me...
River Dreams
Lydia can’t decide what causes what. Is it all because of that one evening when she was nine? Or was everything already fixed in place? Either way, she likes to tell herself the story of Before and After. And she pictures that distant evening as though from the...
Spun Glass
When we were little, Mom took us to Corning, NY to see glass blowers. Glass—hot, liquid—then, solid, clear. Mysterious. She would go anywhere, my mom, set off with real maps, unfolded, her sense of direction not one I inherited. Once, when my father drove miles...
Old Betsy’s Favorite Reverie
“Thank you for your interest in the Indiana Department of Correction’s Museum. As I am sure you will appreciate the sensitivity of such a topic, the Indiana Department of Correction does not refer to the electric chair by any nicknames.” — Indiana Department of...
I Have a Question
Where were you when I prayed on the way to school? That day. Every day after that day. Were you making copies for our first fifth grade lesson that morning? Were you feeding the machine, your manicured nails tapping at the buttons? Double-sided. Black ink. Fifteen...
Packaged Love
Ingredients Two people (40%), sex (30-10%, the percentage decreases over time due to natural weight-gain), friendship (10-30%, the percentage increases over time due to natural weight-gain), same location (10%, can be replaced by phone or webcam, but only for limited...
After the DJ played our favorite Alan Jackson song
and we picked out faraway places on a map and I dropped out of college, and after he made beef stroganoff in my electric wok when I had the flu and he moved in unexpectedly the next weekend, and after the nurse said “Congratulations, you’re pregnant!” and I saw in her...