The Prompt: Choose an old street photographs below. Write a scene of no more than 250 words. Halfway through, the central figure notices that their reflection no longer appears in a window or mirror. People still move around them, but no one registers their presence. End the scene at the exact moment they decide to test their reality. Corbin and … Read moreThe Color of Roses
Every seven years Cells turn over And a newer me emerges Reborn Reincarnated Recycled Scars persist Like a darned sock The stitching smooths And blends A remnant No escaping the mileage Erosion Can carve canyons Memories fade So slowly The glacier is long forgotten Only the effects remain Am I still me When all the … Read moreLost and Found
Julius Caesar decided A year should be twelve months Instead of ten So added November and December Daylight Saving Time Let’s us reclaim or lose an hour Allowing time travel Twice a year Clocks give shape to time But if time flies when you’re having fun And clocks can’t keep up What are they counting?
The Facebook like. The happy birthday text. The ghost of a relationship long passed. Who are you now? No idea, really. When I knew you a million years ago the friendship seemed important and possibly meaningful. School-enforced proximity brought daily sightings, hellos, jokes, sometimes lunches, and always parties. Now? An itch of guilt soothed by … Read moreWeed of Loyalty
It couldn’t be easier Just act natural Be yourself Still It’s hard Not to feel This is a trick.
A DuMont Teleset Replacing their Threadbare radio Feels like The future has arrived. The empty box A spaceship A submarine A portal to another world Waiting for the trash man. Get more out of life With television By DuMont. But one day When the tubes and wires fail It’s just another box Destined for the … Read moreThe Proclivity of Things
Tiny garden plants snuggled into the soil arranged in tidy rows. Each day brought a little more sun and a little more warmth, as the seedlings stretched out their leaves and wriggled their roots deeper into the dirt. Two tomato plants raised side-by-side since their greenhouse days talked about the days ahead. “I’m gonna grow … Read moreMelon Baller
Jacob woke to a damp and sour world. As his eyes came into focus, he noticed a circling fly come to rest at the edge of a puddle of milk. Jacob couldn’t remember how he got to the floor but was pretty sure he fell. Again. He tried to move, but pain arrested his efforts. … Read moreSpilled Milk
Skuen and his younger brother Kadir stood near the end of a hundred-foot-long wall of peat blocks. With L-shaped spades, they cut out neat bricks of peat, looking like rich chocolate cake, and stacked them to dry in the wind. They worked the bogs year-round, with little change to their day other than the amount … Read moreChocolate Cake
Teddy was typing at top speed–just over ten words per minute. He feared an error that may cause him to start over by melting his block of letters. Fifteen months on the linotype and he was no faster than the day he began, but he seldom made a mistake. In the time he could complete … Read moreOperator Error