December 2021
In this issue
Contents
confession
Afterward, I weep into the mole It waits, in shadows of your wrist I smoothen it, lingering my teeth
The Air We Lived In
I remember the air we lived in;the color of hyper, aqueous thin and glinting lifebut shake the razor globe, upend itand we were jim-jammed, shaky,unfounded,..
Candela
At 3AM sometimes I found the man sittingbleached in the light from the forecast on TV.There are no names for colors, he said,the first time..
Lost and Found
Let heaven be a tune that belongs to an eighteen-year-old boy who has never had his own room—until now. He doesn’t even know himself well..
Not my cup of Tea
Sipping teain front of Sephora,with my husband,the third one. I watch the girls from the cosmetic counterhuddle together, dressed in black smocks,full painted lips, coal-colored..
The Fate of Seven House Keys: Imaginings
“Please don’t lose this,” I say to the cat-sitter, placing my house key in her palm. “It’s the only one I’ve got left.” 1 The..
Too Many Days
“There. No. A little to the right. Yes. Perfect.” My daughter presses the bandage firmly against my skin and I wince at the burning sensation..
The Angry Coat
A woman puts on her angry coat. It really just springs to her skin as she leaves the house. She starts her walk. She encounters..
Call Me Ishmael
My mother once called me Hannah, though she didn’t know it was me. A future preacher once called me a bribe from Satan as I..
The Color of Being Alive
Our world is cold and gray. Grandmother tells me it wasn’t always like this. I find that hard to believe. This is all my brother..
The Art of Pickling Green Beans
The aging Ford shudders its way down US 95 just south of Rome, Oregon with a rust-colored optimism I do not share. Woven seat covers,..
End of a Rainbow
I drove under a rainbow on my way home from clerking at the library one summer evening. The clouds I would drive into were brightly..
Mango for Breakfast
I pull the mango from the brown paper bag and press it twice with my thumb. Above me, Ethan’s alarm clock buzzes and the kitchen..