WHEN THE ARRANGEMENTS needed to be made, I knew who to call. There are some people who have a high degree of skill and experience when it comes to such a topic, and many of them will tell you that the loss of what no longer seems to exist is only temporary. It’s one of … Continue reading The Lifecycle of Stars
SHE WADDLED WHEN she walked, favored her left. It took her four tries to get the order right, doesn't matter what it was — groceries, breakfast, DoorDash, something from Amazon... Took her ten days to learn how to use the TV remote. She loved to cook but couldn't cook worth a damn. Her legs swelled, … Continue reading Because of the Stroke
IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE that a book he had given away many years ago and several miles from here should now lay in his hands at this rummage sale. His first thought on seeing it was, The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. How I wore my copy out. Then, turning a few pages and catching glimpses … Continue reading Buy It Again
AGAIN HE HAD NOTHING to do. Well, not exactly nothing. His inbox was full of applications for building permits. Work a clerk could do, for fuck’s sake. No, work a clerk should do. Not him, a member of the Virginia Bar with responsibilities. And a Faber in fact if not in name. His brass name … Continue reading Scion
"YOU MARRIED?" asks Jake, the Uber driver. We are paused at a light downtown. The Prius hums, and chilly air seeps from the vent. "Uh, no," I reply. "You mean ever?" He barks a laugh into the rearview mirror. "No man, like right now." He turns down the rat-tat-tat of DJ Khaled on the radio. … Continue reading Heat Wave
THE CAT WAS BACK, which was fine with Sanders because he sure as hell wasn’t getting any writing done. Hadn’t the whole time he’d been here. Blame the cold, the rain, and now the cat. Even when it was dry, the magnificent desolation of North Wales distracted him, too. This soaked, mewling, clay-colored cat gargoyled … Continue reading A Man Without Prudence
DAVID SOLOMON TURNED into the hotel parking lot shortly after seven o’clock in the evening, but the summer sun held brightly in the sky. He pulled up to the main entrance, turned off the car, and stepped out. As he did, a young boy, maybe seventeen, rushed out through the automatic sliding glass doors, pushing … Continue reading Two Funerals
AMBER WAS CONTEMPLATING life and the processes of nature as she rocked on the porch, enjoying the spring breeze. Surrounded by tender green leaves, blue sky, and cumulous clouds, she was trying to solve a persistent problem, an obstacle that threatened to block her passage into the life of her dreams. This dilemma, besides being … Continue reading Dented Tin Box
WHEN THE FIRST SHELLS fall nearby, the early afternoon prayer is underway. I am explaining to young Khaled why his mistake was due to the incorrect verb usage. “You wrote, It rain in autumn. It should be, It rains in autumn. If the subject is he, she or it, the correct verb is rains, … Continue reading Autumn Rain(s)
OUR FAMILY LEARNED of my father's death, or non-death, I suppose, through FedEx. My son found the package abandoned in a puddle by the garage. My wife opened it at the kitchen table. I was in the other room and curious as to why she was not saying what was inside, and when I came … Continue reading Sincerely, Dad