M E Fuller Surface fog radiates from the cold whisper of icy water, calm beneath a layer of hovering warm air. A loon cries its lonesome call that belies the truth. There is a nest for the pair in that cove, not far from my porch-side perch. I watch for the boat to reappear. I … Continue reading The Lake
by Luanne Castle A woman’s slashed neck bleeds in Michigan. Blood spurts as from a spigot until she presses a kitchen towel to the wound as she dials 911. The assailant sits slumped in the living room, fondling the blade of his hunting knife. I picture the knife—the curved and serrated blade, the hardwood handle. … Continue reading Family History
by George Such Fall/Winter 2017 Remembering the soundof my father’s axeas it split wood,the pile of kindlingon the ground,how my fingerswould test the edgeof the blade for sharpnessand the day it left uswhen we ice-fishedon Banks Lake,Mark chopping a holethrough the thick ice,the axe slippingfrom his grasp as it broke throughthe openingand fell to the … Continue reading After Burial
by Eric Rasmussen The first few cars in the ditch don’t bother me; it’s easy to dismiss such accidents as the fault of distracted or overly-aggressive drivers. But then we pass an SUV flipped on its side in the median. A couple miles after that a semi jackknifed in the ditch emerges from the blowing … Continue reading Driving in This
George Such Remembering the sound of my father’s axe as it split wood, the pile of kindling on the ground, how my fingers would test the edge of the blade for sharpness and the day it left us when we ice-fished on Banks Lake, Mark chopping a hole through the thick ice, the axe slipping … Continue reading After Burial
Alexis Pride Before the white girl went missing in 1969, they were like blood. Beautiful black boys, strong and tender in their eighteen-year-old bodies. Even then, Sweed had a man’s look about him: the shape of his head, round and full of grown folk’s mischief, sitting on a thick defiant neck. Everybody said hanging with … Continue reading Sex Kills
Ben Berman Ghan “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet “Morning, sir.” You hate the sound of the word, “sir.” “Morning.” “Name, sir?” You don’t have a name anymore. “John.” “License and registration, please.” You hand it over. The picture looks just like you. He asks for your passport. … Continue reading A Carnival World
Justin Eisenstadt Labor Day weekend arrives on dark, angry storm clouds. It rains all day Saturday and Sunday, and even though I can feel my plans washing away, I try to keep my focus on cooking. But as I look out the kitchen window at the rain that turns our gravel driveway into a stony … Continue reading Fish Hook
Christine Grimes They say my father’s father had a harsh temper. That once, after being kicked while milking, he killed a dairy cow with a pitchfork. They tell me he always regretted staying with the farm and not fighting in WWII and that he felt conflicted and bitter when both his sons joined the army. … Continue reading The Heritage of Leon Clovis Grimes
Davina Black Megan Marshall, author of The Peabody Sisters and winner of a Pulitzer Prize, has offered another accounting of an uncommon woman of her time. Margaret Fuller is a name tragically forgotten and overlooked in today’s study of nineteenth century literature, overshadowed by male visionaries such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, with whom Fuller was … Continue reading Margaret Fuller by Megan Marshall